Free Children's Guide to Systematic Readings in the Encyclopedia Britannica

Bored children this summer? Have them read the Encyclopedia. Heh, heh, heh.

A Guide to Systematic Readings in the Encyclopedia Britannica by James Baldwin, 1897 Free and in public domain. The book is downloadable, and pages are printable. To print pages, right click in the image of the page. Text can also be switched to plain text for copy and paste; however, some words do not transition well, and editing will be needed.

Encyclopedia Britannica here.

"Now, my young friends, this habit of reading is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasures that God has prepared for his creatures. But you cannot acquire this habit in your old age ; you cannot acquire it in middle age ; you must do it now, when you are young. You must learn to read, and to like reading now, or you cannot do so when you are old." —Anthony Trollope.

DIY Carpet Dry-cleaning For Wool Rugs

Today, I tried a dry carpet cleaning product called Capture by Milliken on our large Persian wool rug. This is an older rug(ebay) with low pile - easy to clean if I could use water. I was concerned that the colors would run with wet extraction cleaning, and getting the extra large room sized rug to dry would be nearly impossible. Not to mention, wet wool smells pretty gross after 24 hours. Someone at a local hardware store recommended Capture to me. Reviews online for Capture were very positive. The price was good as well, under $20.00($17.94)for the kit. So I thought I'd give it a shot.

I found a Capture carpet dry clean kit at Lowe's which contained a spray and powder. The spray goes on first followed by a lemon scented powder. I used a stiff broom to spread it around into the rug fibers, waited a half hour, and vacuumed with my heavy duty Rainbow vacuum. It worked quite well. The dirt from my bagless vacuum's water capture bowl was like mud! I had no idea the rug was that dirty. Tomorrow I'll use the Capture on two bedroom rugs, also Persian wool. I'd recommend this product for wool rugs. You do need a very strong suction vacuum to pick up the fine particulates. My bagless stick vacuum could not handle it(clogged), so I had to lug out my heavy beast vacuum.

Six Steps to Reducing Water Usage in the Garden

See here.

I like her homemade rain barrel; however, we'd need a closed top system in our area due to mosquitoes. A window screen over the top might work.

Back From the Shenandoah Mountains

More later...

Picture taken at the end of a hike as we stood beneath the Dark Hollow Falls at the Shenandoah National Park.

Coming Up Daisies and Other Kindergarten - Early Elementary Flower Lessons

Cute 1898 flower lessons(violets, daisy, cherry, shooting star, wild roses, clover blossoms, pansy, and more) for early elementary, see pages 1005-1059 to print out/read lesson plans. Simply right click on the images of the pages to save and/or print. Free and in public domain.

A few sections from the daisy lesson:

The Daisy

Where does it come from? Does it grow in sunny or shady places? How high does the plant grow? How many blossoms on one plant? What are the leaves like? Are daisies ail alike? Compare the white and yellow daisy, as to form, size, color, etc. What does the white daisy look like? What do we call the yellow center? (The disk.) What do we call the white flowers around the yellow center? (Rays.) They make the daisy look like a star.

If you do not look very carefully at the daisy, it will fool you. You will think that the little green leaves underneath the flower head make up the calyx and the white leaves above the corolla. You will believe, as many other people do, too, that the yellow center is made up of a number of stamens. But this would not be true, and we will need to look again more carefully. What you hold in your hand is not one daisy flower, but a great many flowers.

The yellow center of the daisy is composed of a great many little tube-shaped blossoms, and the circle of white flower leaves is really a circle of flowers. You will find one pistil. The pollen is brought from the yellow flowers in the center to this pistil.

Do you know why it is called a daisy? Because it awoke so early in the morning? What month of the year does it bloom? How long can we gather daisies?

1 LITERATURE.

Read one of the poem by Robert Burns' "To a Daisy."

"The Daisy and the Lark," Hans Anderson.

DRAWING.

Draw a daisy plant as it looks growing in the field.
Draw or cut and paste a daisy border.
Make a silhouette of daisies with grasses

THE DAISY.
I'm a pretty little daisy,
Always coming with the spring;
In the meadows green I'm found.
And my stalk is covered flat
With a white and yellow hat.
My stalk is green and very tall,
At night I am a yellow ball;
But in the morning when I wake,
A lovely little cup I make.

THE DAISY.
The daisy is the meekest flower

That grows in wood or field;
To wind and rain and footsteps rude,

Its slender stem will yield.

In spring it dots the green with white,

And blossoms all the year,
And so it is a favorite flower, .,

With all the children dear.

Before the stars are in the sky,

The daisy goes to rest,
And folds its little shining leaves

Upon its golden breast.

So children when they go to bed

Should fold their hands in prayer,
And place themselves and all they love,

In God's protecting care. —Set.

Convert a Coffee Table to a Desk

See here for the "before" and "after'' pictures. It's hard to believe this used to be a coffee table. Nicely done conversion.

Easy DIY Cement Planter Tutorial

This looks like a really fun summer project! I think I'll add sea glass to my planters, or shells. See here for detailed tutorial with pictures.

Vintage June Blackboard Calendar, Memory Gems, and Red Letter Dates

All from The School Journal, 1910
Click on image to enlarge and save.

June Daily Memory Gems

Red Letter Days in June, pages 404-405.


All are free and in public domain. Pages at links can be saved by right clicking on the image of the pages at the links.

Thrifty Organic Vegan Skin/Hair Soap, Moisturizer, and Hair Styler

My new favorite soap and hair shampoo is the all-in-one raw African black soap/shampoo bar. I have wavy to curly fine dry hair, and this works wonders at getting the hair clean without drying. It also holds my curls, so that I don't end up with flat hair or frizzy hair. Fine curly hair will do that - go flat against your head or frizz. The flat-against-the-head look happens sometimes in the dry winters, and then it clings to my scalp. At times, it's quite frustrating to get a proper moisture balance. Thankfully, this soap has given my hair a good moisture balance without having to use a conditioner, and it's convenient as an all-in-one product for body and hair. It had a minor drying effect on my aging winter skin when I first used it, but my skin seemed to adapt to it after about two weeks. It has a reputation for being good for acne and rash prone skin. Again, I think it's the moisture balance and gentle thorough cleaning.

It took some getting used to because it is unscented and smells a little different - a bit smoky. The smell does not linger on the hair or skin. The lather is fabulous, and it takes only a small amount to wash your body and hair. I never put it under the water, just use my wet hands to form a lather. It is a soft milled soft, so will dissolve quickly and get soft if left wet. I store the soap on a raised rubber soap mat (outside the shower stall) to let it dry properly between use. I don't bother cutting the soap into pieces. The one pound bar fits on a soap mat just fine.

To style my hair, I now use a little pure raw unrefined Shea butter from West Africa. It comes as a solid and is unscented. I scoop a little out with a tongue depressor, melt it between my fingers and hands(melts at body temperature), and scrunch my hair with it. Surprisingly, it is not heavy or greasy and can be use sparingly as a curl/style shaper. In small amounts, I can get my natural curls to keep together rather than frizz, and the style stays in place without looking unnaturally stiff. If I scrunch from underneath, I can get big hair with lots of volume that stays. It just looks and acts healthy. I've put more of it in my hair for deep conditioning, and it washes out well.

In the winter, I used the raw unrefined Shea butter on my face with great results - no blemishes, and it made my skin soft. It's too heavy for me in the summer, but great around the eyes for wrinkles. Because it's an all natural gentle vegetable product, I use it on the children as well.

Because a little goes a long way, both the African black soap and Shea butter lasts a very long time. This place sent me good quality fair trade raw African black soap($14.00) and 14 ounces of unrefined Shea butter in a jar($12.00) . I thought the prices had risen, but I must have purchased the sample sizes, which are really quite large! I purchased these in the winter, and I've still got about 3/4 of the soap left and around 80% of the Shea butter left. I think mine was from Ghana, but they currently have these items from Togo, a less economically advantaged country to the west of Ghana.

I would Google "Fair Trade Unrefined Shea Butter" in order to find authentic products. If the Shea Butter is yellow, it may be Kpangnan Butter, often erroneously marketed a golden Shea butter. I took down an Amazon link on this post because I think the Shea butter was actually Kpangnan Butter.

Another favorite:

Ten Thousand Villages fair trade Shea butter in a clay gift bowl with recycled glass bead.

Memorial Day Multi-Grade Readings for Children

Click here.

Low Light House Plants

House plants greatly improve air quality inside a home. They take in gases, give off oxygen, and add much needed humidity in the winter. We've got low sunlight in the house, especially with the new energy saver windows which are tinted. I've really been limited to which plants will survive in these conditions.

Here are a few hardy plants which have done well for me in low light conditions:

Cast Iron plant, a popular plant in Victorian times(and the 1970's) - hard to find in stores, but seen on ebay recently. These are tough plants which do great in low light. We've had them in the past, and are planning to buy some for our current home.

Mother-in-Law's Tongue or Snake Plant. I really like these sculptural looking plants - look great in decorative bowls. These really tolerate low light, especially in corners.



Pothos Very tolerant.



Chinese Evergreen, sort of good in low light. I've had a bit of trouble with this one. Mine does better in filtered light. I have it in a western facing window which is covered by sheers. The link mentions a north facing window as ideal. It did really well in the bathroom(humidity) until winter, and then wasn't getting enough light(I guess).

Peace Lily - new plant in our home, so far, so good.

Dwarf Umbrella Tree - a bit fussy, but surviving in low filtered light(eastern exposure). Doesn't like corners. I had to place this in front of a wide set of windows so that all sides get light.

Some of the above plants are not suppose to be sprayed or misted with water(leaf spots), but I do it anyway with no ill effects. This is a good way to keep the dust off them.

Plants are an inexpensive way to decorate. They fill in spaces beautifully and function as living sculpture. I find inexpensive pots at the Dollar Tree and decorative pots at thrift stores. Inexpensive plants can be found online at places such as plant swaps, Freecycle, Craigslist, or ebay.

Do you have any favorites for low light conditions?

Ten Free Trees for $10.00

Ten free trees with a $10.00 membership and affordably priced trees and bushes at the Arbor Day Foundation(.org). We've purchased many of our shrubs and trees from this foundation for a great bargain. For birthdays and Christmas, I plan to use the Gift-a-Tree program. There is also an option to donate your ten free trees to our National Parks. For the past few years, I've gotten cute pre-printed freebie address labels from them which I use on my Christmas cards. They offer other freebies from time to time as well.

He who plants a tree plants a hope. ~ Lucy Larcom

Photo a picture of pin oak trees in our backyard.

Exploring Caves

I'm getting antsy to travel this summer, and thinking about visiting some caves. I found a list of five commercial "show" caves in our state. There is also a link to caves in the United States and around the world. We are considering the Skyline Caverns and Luray Caverns.

Student educational materials for cave visits:

Exploring Caves(K-3). Story form with questions and links to extended learning. Printable(HTML or PDF)

Geological Information(PDF)

US Geological Survey Educational Resources for Secondary Grades Middle School and High School

Selections from vintage public domain books:

Why Man Wanted to live in Caves(Elementary), 1904.

The Cave Men, (Elementary), 1897

Caves(Elementary), mentions Kentucky's Mammoth Cave, 1899.

Caves in the United States, fifth grade reader, 1863

Elementary Geology,1903.

How Caves are Made, 1916(elementary-middle school)

The Great Valley -Virginia, 1902(middle - high school)


The above vintage book selections can be saved by right clicking on the images of the pages at the links.

We'll be grabbing some books from the library as well.

Also nearby:
• Shenandoah River State Park(tubing!)
• Shenandoah National Park
• George Washington National Forest
• The Appalachian Trail

I'll add more resources as I find them.

Free Online Children's Art History Lessons

Short lessons here at Art History for Kids cover five elements of art: line, color, space, shape, and texture; followed by a visit to a virtual art museum for an application of lessons.

Also see Art Encyclopedia to browse artists, art movements, and featured exhibits.

Vintage Paper Toy Making

TOY MAKING FOR THE KINDERGARTEN

John Y. Dunlop, Greenfield, Tollcross, Glasgow. 1915

"The child's desire for constant and fresh amusement must be catered to in the classroom as well as in the home. Thus the teachers of very young children should always be on the look out for new material and new models for the most of children are keen on experimenting with unusual material and they often create new results from new material close at hand.

The first model in this series is a child's parachute which is made from a square of paper.

Make a hole in each corner as shown at Fig. 1.

Pass a piece of cotton through each hole, knot the end and see that the knot don't pass through.

Tie a large thread to the four collected ends of the string, and when flung up in the air, the parachute will open and descend slowly, or even float in the air.

This toy may be made in all colors which add very much to their bright appearance when floating in the air.

The construction of a balloon[hot air] is a more difficult model for young children. Procure an ordinary child's balloon, and cover this with an old hair net from home, or a loosely knitted light string bag.

See that the balloon is blown fully up. This part forms the gas bag. The balloon basket is made from a piece of square paper Fig. 4. Fold as shown, open out, fold up the sides, Fig. 5, then turn the corners round to make a complete open box.

Attach the basket to the gas bag with four pieces of cotton, Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 shows a pattern of a hanging basket. Fig. 7 gives the plan.

The paper which we use is usually six inches square.

Fold on the diagonals, cut on the solid line, Fig 7, and pass A part behind B part. Fix at the corners with wool.

Group the threads, knot and hang up.

Fig 10 and 11 shows a folded model of a flying bird. This handwork lesson is given with the spring lesson on happy birds.

Fold a piece of square paper into sixteen squares.

Open out, fold on the diagonal, open out.

From the windmill form fold into the vase, Fig. 11, fold backward and bring C down for the head along the dotted line.

Fig 10 shows the complete model."

K - Elementary Picture Study: Millet's Churning Butter

Churning Butter, 1866-68, Jean-Francois Millet(Image source - includes biography), located at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France.

Excerpts:

"Do you know what butter is made of? No not milk exactly, but cream. The milk is poured into jugs and pans, which are set upon those shelves just behind the woman. After a good many hours—perhaps all night —there is a layer of cream on the top of the milk. All the oily part of the milk rises to the top and this is the cream—hundreds of the tiniest globules of fat. Yes, the cream you have on your oatmeal is just like this...Do you notice how very careful and tidy this woman seems to be? Her clothing is well protected, and her cap, which she wears all the time, is pulled closer than ever over her hair on churning day. She could not stop to make herself tidy if her hair became loose, for the butter wouldn't come if she stopped moving the dasher. Her quiet, thoughtful face shows us that she thinks about her work and plans the best way to do it."

Page is printable here, pages 278-279. To download or print, right click on the image of the pages at the link. Free and in public domain from Kindergarten-Primary Magazine, 1915.

Vintage Home Life in Mexico

Interesting tidbits of home life in Mexico found in an 1897 Good Housekeeping magazine:

HOME LIFE IN MEXICO.

THE JOURNAL "MODERN MEXICO" SAYS:

That Mexico ladies never flirt.

That the Mexico women have not yet adopted the bicycle.

That good household servants are paid from $4 to $8 a month.

That one may listen for a year and never hear an angry word spoken in Spanish.

That it is quite the proper thing in Mexico to take a little nap after the midday meal.

That the departing lady kisses her lady friends on both cheeks at the door or on the street car.

That you can buy all the beautiful flowers you can carry home in a half-bushel basket, for an American half dollar.

That even the peon's (laborer or bondman) wife has a piece of drawn work to cover her husband's dinner basket.

That babies and children all wear half socks, and are happy with bare legs, when Northern visitors require overcoats.

That white paper is one of the things that is expensive. Ordinary news paper costs about ten cents (silver) a pound.

That one of the favorite sweets for children is sugar cane. It is sold in pieces about eighteen inches long for one centavo each.

That everybody shakes hands both at meeting and parting, even though the visit may be on the street corner and lasts only two minutes.

That the politeness the common people show each other and their affection for their children, are a never-ending source of pleasure to foreigners.

That every one is required by law to keep a bowl of water in the entry of his house, for the convenience of dogs, so that they will not go mad from thirst.

That the waiter will give you a complete change of plate, knife and fork with every separate order of meat or vegetables, and the style is to eat but one thing at a time.

That a gentleman would almost feel disgraced to be seen carrying a two-pound package or his satchel on the public street. Servants and carriers are so cheap that such work is always left to them.

That fires are almost unknown, cooking being done with a little charcoal in stoves made of masonry, and as the houses are universally built of stone and bricks, and have no chimneys, there is little chance for conflagrations.

That aside from fresh fruits, which are always served abundantly, dessert is almost unknown on the average home or hotel table. A dulce, or simple sweet of some kind, is served at the end of the meal, but it rarely consists of more than a very small portion of preserved fruit, or one little tart about the size of a dollar.

Image source.