{five around our house}

a few zinnias are left hanging out in the garden. to start off her busy morning visiting the chickens & bunny, 3 brought this one in & put it in a vase for me while i was making breakfast. she said it looked like fall...she knows fall is her mama's all time favorite. {sweetgirl}

1.currently loving ::spending most of this week at the horse  

                      ranch with 2 because she won't

                      have lessons during the holiday.

                     (on top of soccer practices & make-up

                      games, workshops, conferences

                      bible study, errands, etc...)

                     

                     *spending ALL of yesterday on the couch

                      after such a super busy week.

                      catching up on our DVR, magazines &

                      catalogs, napping & doing 

                      absolutely nothing. 

                     *popcorn sprinkled with nutritional

                      yeast obsessively about 3 pm everyday. 

                     (beats french fries!)

2.currently reading :: [of the many]

                      *us-the Incredible Journey on CD.  a

                      fantastic story to learn about the concept

                      of anthropomorphism. listening along to

                      the reader tell the story of the journey of

                      the three animal companions helps emphasize

                      the concept & the effect the writer

                      achieves in using it.

                      

                      *this post - such an amazing writer.

                      we used this post to discuss & identify

                      descriptive words & foreshadowing in

                      writing.

                     *me-the book of Nehemiah (finally left Ezra)

                      still The Dry Grass of August. sad.

                     (because i never actually sit down & read

                      it...much rather sleep these days)

3.currently added :: my pinterest button up top below my 

                       @brwnsugarhoney twitter button

4.currently happy :: vacation starts today. nothing

                       intentionally school-ish what-so-ever for

                                     2 WEEKS!!!

                       (didn't say nothing educational. we

                       are always learning. can't help it.)

                       cannot wait to see our fam in a few days.

                       its been FOREVER!

5.current soup ::

 {cannellini bean & cabbage soup}

Source: fitnessmagazine.com via Kerstin on Pinterest

click link or pic for recipe



{five around our house}

currently loving {my oxfords in fall}

{five around our house} 

these are from last week.

behind again :)

my attempt at being 

little more personal

since im just not

that kinda blogger

*sigh*.

*another autumn drink :: elderberry concentrate & apple juice for the change in season sickies. a big hit!

*current reads ::
among our many
Skellig...which we all love.
Dry Grass of August for me...(it's ok, just dont know why i cant get thru it).

*horribly sad ::
we had a horrible teacher tradgedy at our charter. he decided not living was easier than living for him...(so sad!).

*tweet tweet tweet ::
i added my @brwnsugarhoney twitter button up top.

*mama's kitchen ::
cooking in my La Creuset dutch oven everyday. soups, sauces,  dishes, everything.
the girls have been sooooo hungry, i decided to make one simple soup a week that they could heat up easily on their own.



{Simple & Delish Tomato-Basil Soup}

2 teaspoons olive oil (i personally like a good drizzle)

3 diced garlic cloves (or to taste)

1 can chicken broth (can add 2 if you like it richer)

4 cans(14.5 ounce)italian stewed canned tomatoes (didn't get many from my garden this year)

2 cups fresh basil, thinly sliced

salt & pepper to taste

fresh feta cheese for sprinkling on top

{SIMPLE PREP}

easy peasy.

you can get as fancy as you want, but i threw it all in my dutch oven & baked in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour.

after 30 minutes i blended it all with my immersion blender then returned to the oven until the soup thickened & deepened red in color.

afterwards we topped with fresh feta cheese & avocado slices & served with grilled cheese sandwiches.

super simple & good!

*i love reading these types of posts on other sites. im not so much of a linky girl. i've tried it a couple of times & it makes me nervous for some reason. 

maybe one day i will brave it again :)

{free.happy.dirty.}birds

How can the bird

that is born for joy,
Sit in a cage and sing...

Songs of the Innocent Schoolboy ~William Blake

*we are currently obsessively fascinated by the book Skellig on CD (we're purchasing the book this week).

the magical story itself

combined with being read in the author's accent are both haunting & completely captivating.

one the characters, Mina, is an homeschooled (& i assume unschooled girl).

one of the most brilliantly captivating character i've ever experienced i'll even dare.

i very much love the way her character portrays her families free, creative lifestyle & choice in their way of learning so beautifully & confidently.

William Blake's images, words & philosophy are prevelant thru out the entire book (prompting more research).

this all coming at the time when i've decided to wean us off of the textbooks more (meaning almost completely), opening the way for the amazing things that happen when we do.

Skellig (David Almond) has reaffirmed my courage & trust in us to do so.

*i love the girls young spirit in these pix.

free birds. 

their sense of total freedom, happiness & security.

(eventhough they found a snake skin where they were running around barefooted...they still felt safe!)

after co-op, the girls decided to hunt for owl pellets & it turned into this ::

they climbed. they dug.

they got completely dirty.

they imagined & pretended.

they explored.

they discovered.

they smiled & laughed & laughed & laughed.

& no matter the ages THEY PLAYED!!!

no one could get them to leave.

no one wanted them too really.

*p.s. all caught up on my co-op posts now :)

co-op{fall leaf crafting}

We began with a few activities like a short plant/leaf review lesson, plant/leaf vocab bingo game, stories about leaves,etc...
Then the kiddies were sent on a mission to gather leaves for fun fall crafting projects.

{leaf rubbing}

 

can't believe i deleted the pic of the finished product.

It was so pretty!

{leaf wax dipping}

one of the co-op kiddies beautiful display

We left the project open & everyone got creative.

Naturally, with the magical combination of imagination & curiosity we all began experimenting.

We dipped different objects,tried different techniques like dipping the leaves immediately in cold water which makes them glossy, putting different amounts of wax coating layers, adding glitter, dipping flowers, lots of ideas.

The girls & I brought our waxed creations home to make a garlands & other displays ideas.

We are going to do more dipping gift projects at home with beeswax.

(trying to find someone local willing to sell beeswax has been been quite a hunt)

* the fun didn't end here...until next post!

archives{homeschooling co-op fun}

this post super late, but i'm trying to catch up to speed.

 This year we joined our 1st ever homeschooling co-op & we are LOVING it!

The co-op host family converted their garage & yard into an amazing learning environment for the kids.  

3 introducing herself to the group using her All About Me Poster.

The kids always have opportunity for public speaking or Presenters Club if they choose.

  Our co-op days have such a natural, kicked back energy & flow to them.

The kids do a variety of educational activities(or even just play every once in a while...which is totally ok too). 

They all have so much fun.

I teach science (which depending on the ages of kids in attendance can loosely consists of a brief lesson, story time, amazing discussions, current events, hands on crafts or food projects & experiments...more posts coming soon)

Because my name means "the bee" i introduced myself & my 1st class with a lesson about bees. Afterwards, the kids made their own bee butter (peanut butter & honey) with honey pretzel sticks.

* more co-op fun to come. i just wanted to give a brief introduction & share a few tidbits...now that we found our niche & are fully committed to it.

 (& not before i asked & received the other parents permission)

{current love...cozy autumn drinks}

1.

2.

3.

photo with recipe here 

(im totally clueless about the proper bloggie etiquette, but i found this image on the web & edited it slightly to match my other photos...but i gave credit where it was due...so i hope its all good. if not someone please let me know!)

{current love...cozy autumn drinks}

Ahhh...fall is my abs fave for so many reasons.

hot cozy drinks, especially around the fireplace is one of them. 

on these cool days there is just something comforting about having my hands wrapped around a warm mug of anything.

these have been some of our fam faves lately.

1. hot chocolate with marshmallows, peppermint stir sticks & heavy on the whip. DELISH!

2. hot spiced apple juice black tea (slowly heat apple juice or cider w/star anise, cloves, cinnamon, allspice berries, etc...& add a black tea bag to steep). super yummy, warm & cozy!

3. pumpkin spiced anything especially lattes! i'm currently in love & obsessed! i really MUST try this recipe.

*the girls are dilly-dallying & dragging their feet with their schoolwork today...i'm sitting beside them with a few minutes to try some stuff on here:

• loving the new header pic (i LOVE the golden leaf & the red wellies!!!)
• new posts style
• different topics (life beyond just kids stuff, sisterly sundays, etc...) 
• playing with new photo styles as i learn & practice photo editing
• ramblings...if i can find what works i may just combine my two blogs(the other)

*when i started this blog i didn't intend for it to become only about the homeschooling aspect of our crazy little beautiful life.hope no one minds me having a little fun & trying out new things.

.dtr.

{sisterly sundays}

{sisterly sundays}

i know.

i started this new {sisterly sundays} thing,

did one post

& then took a long bloggie break.

sad to report...not much progress has been made. still working on distractions.

He was working morning,nights & weekends & i couldn't do it all...but eventhough i knew better i still tried.

FAIL!

SPIRITUAL THINGS FIRST (& all other things will be added)...WHEN WILL I LEARN!

thank goodness for God's good grace & willingness to help & forgive.

{spiritually speaking this week}

*i dont even want to talk about my sad daily bible reading progress...(ok one chapter of Ezra yesterday morning)

*still working on our mid week congregation meeting attendance.

*Isaiah 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts".

*

This scripture really puts us in our place! God's wisdom & ways are higher than ours...period.

it only makes sense to put ALL of our faith & trust in Him ALONE(eventhough we sometimes lose sight).

It also brings to mind that even with our seemingly human limitations, with complete faith in God he can & will help us do anything.

Such a relief to me to know i can't & don't have to do it all!

& VERY comforting to know the God i put my complete faith & trust has the wisdom & power to do anything! 

restaurant. chemistry lab. TV set. all in our kitchen.

11.3.11

(out of sequence because i was trying to get the video to post)

both our plans a & b fell thru,so we happily stayed home & tied up some loose ends.
amazing things happen when you have time to let them. 

our kitchen was transformed into so many different things.

a restaurant

3 was super excited to finally be staying home. she knew exactly what she wanted to do & started getting her restaurant ready for business.

she completely ran the show.

she made her own menus & prices.

took all the customers orders.

rang us all up & gave us our change.

i received 50 cents in change because my order was $2.50 & i gave her $3.00.

my order.

she was even the chef who prepared all the restaurant food.

we had the best nachos with black bean, corn & avocado salsa.

very happy customers.

science lab

after the restaurant closed our kitchen turned into a chemistry lab in which we scientist experimented with chemical reactions & changes of state in different types matter.

first we predicted what chemical reaction or physical change we thought would happen before we mixed the red cabbage juice powder into the cup of baking soda & water.

no one guessed blue.

or red when we mixed citric acid to the other cup of baking soda & water.

or that an hour after adding the polyacrylamide crystals to each cup...

they would absorb the liquid & expand.

this science project was called

"Sunset in a Test Tube".

 Our crystals never really mixed & made layers of purple (but the blue crystals have turned green since)...we think they were still pretty.

TV set

after we closed the science lab our kitchen turned into a TV set for a commercial shoot. 2's writing assignment was to make a advertisement commercial. She had to create & write the script, direct & produce the commercial.

The product she was trying to convince her audience to buy was a racecar called "Cul8er". Not only was it fast & fuel efficient it also had many safety features.

Thursday was such a relief from some of the book & seat work we've been doing.

we've been so busy with so many other activities that we seem to be cramming in a lot of (somewhat boring) worksheets/book work simply because they are easy to take on the go.

Thursday was more our homeschooling style, but sometimes so life goes.

our activities are starting to wind down & i had to try to take some control of our time by turning things down, but we are all the better for it.

& we all feel better for it too.

perfect weather actually

{i've been having fun playing with photo editing}

rain.

wind.

cold.

clouds.

hot pumpkin spice lattes.

white hot chocolates with extra whip.

down vests.

red wellies.

umbrellas.

books.

blankets.

couches.

snuggled.

we actually have real weather 

in So Cal right now.

it really actually feels

like fall.

i'm such a happy

fall deprived lovin' girl. 

perfect start

to our weather unit.