Magic Milkshakes at Home

These are so delicious! I can't eat them because I'm dieting, but I always take a spoonful before serving it to my daughter, the chocolate monster.

• 1-1/2 to 2 cups ice water
• 1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare
• 2 tablespoons corn oil plus a 5-second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification purposes

Read the rest here at Hillbilly Housewife.

Schoolaid Health Curriculum

We've been using a health curriculum published by SchoolAid since early elementary. Schoolaid is a conservative non-profit Christian publisher(Conservative Mennonite/Amish). They also publish the Climbing to Good English curriculum. The series, grades three through eight, dedicates itself to teaching Christian principles in basic health knowledge, affording a practical foundation for healthy living.  Physiology, nutrition, home economics, safety, first aid, and  manners are covered in a straight forward way. The early books were very helpful in learning good hygiene and  household safety. I talk to my son about these things(in one ear and out the other), but it really sunk in after he studied this book series. The first two in the series are workbooks, and the remaining two are textbooks. This series is very practical! Most everything learned is useful for everyday living.

Free printable food and hygiene coloring pages for younger children.

Free Early Learning Online Printables: Farm Animal Worksheets

These are so cute! I'm collecting farm animal themed (her favorite) worksheets for my daughter this year. Printable worksheets here.

Free Children's Animal Sewing Card Printouts

This blogger includes a tutorial as well. How generous! See here.

Make a Natural Looking Wooden Sandbox

A good tutorial with pictures. See here

DIY Ladder Bookshelves

Just one of a few ideas. See here. The shelves on the metal ladders would need to be secured. Perhaps some liquid nails would do the trick.

Image from link.

Make a Children's Sewing Kit Tutorial

Tutorial here.

She has got some more children's sewing freebies here. I like her animal sewing card downloads for preschoolers.

Image from tutorial.

Repeating Calendars

Calendars never really go out of date. Eventually the days repeat themselves, and you can use a vintage or antique calendar again. See which years can be used again for 2010 and 2011. I've found a few vintage public domain images of children's school(blackboard) calendars by month. I'll post them as the months come up, and any others that I find for the entire year.

Cut and Paste Printables

I've got a preschooler who will be enjoying these free cut and paste printables tomorrow.

 

Free Printable Tangram Patterns and Silhouette Cards

Invented by the Chinese and used to develop geometric thinking and spatial sense. 

Numerous free patterns here.

Painted Floor Progress

I'm making headway with the painted floors despite children and/or cats walking or almost walking across wet paint. I finished my son's bedroom and the formal living room. Now that some of the floors are done, it shows how badly the baseboards need painting. I'll work on this next.
I used Behr's One Part Epoxy Concrete Garage Floor Paint with a concrete primer on this concrete first floor living room floor. It turned out nicely and a large vintage wool Persian area rug($176 including shipping on ebay) with padding will go over top. I used 1.5 cans of paint for this 15 x 12(approximate) area, and half a can of concrete primer. The hubby took out the carpet and used a hand sander to smooth the floor.

Vintage Children's Character Education Resources

We are to be fulfilled and satisfied in the abundance of Christ's life, putting our love and trust in God above all else, neither material nor person coming before God.

Most of these resources deal with greed and the consequences of greed in one form or another. All are in public domain and are downloadable and printable:

The Punishment of Greed from the Chinese Fairy Book, 1921.

Proverbs By John H. Bechtel, 1910

Which is Best?, The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle, Katharine Pyle, 1887.

Greed in Marlowe's Tragedies, English Literature by Alphonso Gerald Newcomer, 1905.

Decline of the Republic, A History of the Ancient World, by George Stephen Goodspeed, 1912.

Service, Junior High School Literature by William Harris Elson, Christine M. Keck, 1920.

The Son of Columbus, Great Men's Sons by Elbridge Streeter Brooks, 1895.

The Last Voyages of Christopher Columbus, Harper's Fourth Reader, 1888.

Malchus the Monk, The Book of Saints and Heroes, by Andrew Lang.

The Wolf and the Crane,  The Folk-lore Readers, by Eulalie Osgood Grover, Margaret Ely Webb, 1914.

The Lion's Share, The Story Hour Readers, 1920

The Magic Well, The American School Readers, 1911

The Greedy Geese, Good Stories for Great Holidays, 1914

More later.....

DIY Pallet Furniture

Made from free pallets. See more here.

Source

Care of Painted Floors

The Housekeeper's Handbook of Cleaning
Harper's Home Economics
Author Sarah Josephine MacLeod
Publisher Harper & Brothers, 1918

Some vintage advice for the care of painted floors:

Floors and  Floor Coverings

"Fortunately the day of nailed-down carpets is almost gone. The sooner all carpets are replaced by rugs the better. Carpets which cover the entire floor hold dust and are hard to clean. Rugs take as much dust for the surface they cover, but the surface is not so great, and they are cleaned much more easily.

Even though a floor is of soft wood, the cracks can be filled and three or four coats of good paint applied. If this surface is covered with one large rug, or with several smaller ones placed where there is the most traffic, the finish will last well. Painted soft-wood floors are not as desirable as hard-wood floors, but they are preferable to carpeted floors.

Painted floors.—To keep these in good condition they should be swept with a soft-hair brush and dusted with a dry mop or duster. Occasionally they may be washed with a slightly moistened cloth."

Painted Concrete Floors

I'm thinking we might paint the concrete floors downstairs instead of renting a grinder for polished concrete floors. The grinder is inexpensive, but paint is even less. Look how nicely Sandy's turned out:

 


She has got a beautiful blog. Go check it out, Paint Me White.

How to Make Sour Cream From Plain Yogurt

Easy!  You take plain yogurt(no additives), drain off the liquid(whey), add some lemon, and refrigerate for two hours. See here for detailed recipe.

This tutorial mentions the use of a fine mesh kitchen sieve to drain the yogurt, but cheese cloth or a strong paper towel over a colander works well too. I use the colander/paper towel combination over a large bowl to drain the yogurt. Instead of discarding the drainage(whey), save it for baking and cooking. I use whey in homemade bread.

For something extra, save a portion of the drained yogurt; skip the lemon, drain overnight, and you'll have creamy cheese!

Image for wikipedia.

Common Ingredient Substitutions When You Run Short

Helpful list here, at Allrecipes.com.

Substituting apple sauce or yogurt for oil/butter in baking recipes is one of my favorite diet secrets. I also use this substitution in my homemade salad dressing; instead of oil, I use yogurt. Just one tablespoon of my canola oil is 120 calories! One cup of plain whole milk yogurt is only 130 calories.