Canning Adventures

I have never canned before.  It's something I've been wanting to do for a while now - especially when I have to throw out some wonderful organic vegetables that died a miserable death in my fridge because I didn't cook them in time or I had too much.  I prime example of this was the pomegranates we had this winter - I threw out a good 10 lbs of perfect sugar cracked organics because we just couldn't get them fast enough and they got moldy.

Because of this, I set out to start canning. Right now, I'm limited on things that I can can using the water bath method. Hopefully my pressure canner will be here soon so that I can start canning my broths instead of freezing it in ziplocks.. lol

Tonight I attempted making my own jalapeno jelly.  And YUM!  So glad I did.  Husband was very hesitant about this - the idea of jalapeno and jelly together just doesn't seem right to him. (He did try it and said it tasted great).  But for my first canning attempt, I wanted something fairly easy to mix up, jar and seal..
..
 Here's the recipe I used

• 1 jar of sliced jalapeno peppers (not the pickled kind) - I was going to use fresh originally but the jalapenos at the commissary looked nasty today LOL but honestly, this was easier anyway ;)
• 2 cups white vinegar (I used white, you can also use apple cider vinegar)
• 6 cups sugar
• 2 3-oz pouches of pectin
• 5 8oz canning jars ?
• Optional is green food coloring. I don't see why this is necessary and I left it out. 

First things first. I drained all the liquid out from the jalapenos and dumped them into my blender along with 1 cup of the vinegar and send them for a spin on the puree setting..

While I was doing this, I realized that I only have 1 big pot and I was needing to give a hot bath to my canning jars.. so while I was doing all this, I was boiling water in a larger sauce pot and dumping it into my crock pot.. Hey, it worked  LOL

Once I had my jalapenos pureed nicely (at least the way I wanted ) I poured it all into my big soup pot along with the second cup of vinegar and the 6 cups of sugar..  Which makes a green slury that looks alot like this:

Tastes alot better than it looks

I brought this to a rolling boil (but not too high heat, as it will try to boil over VERY quickly if you don't control the heat, as I quickly learned). I let it boil for 10 minutes and then I added the pectin, stirred it in really well and allowed it to boil for an addition minute. After the minute, I removed it from the heat.

Now the fun part.. Putting everything in its cute jars.. The recipe said that it made five 8oz half pint jars of jelly. HA. I only had 4 8 oz jars so I planned on pouring the excess into a 16oz pint size jar. I ended up having enough extra to fill 2 16 oz jars, go figure.  I ended up canning one and putting the second one in the fridge for us to enjoy now. 

After carefully pouring my concoction into the jars (taking care to leave the 1/4 inch recommended headspace, wiping the rims clean and putting on the caps and rings, my jars were ready to go into their hot bath.. I had to wait for my water to come to a boil, as my huge pot had to be cleaned :(  But once the water was boiling, I added my jars and babysat them..

I'm jealous of my jellies - they get a hot bath and I don't.

The recipe said I needed to have them in the boiling water for 10 minutes, however, with the fact that I am at a higher altitude of 2300 feet, I had to add 5 minutes to the time.  After 15 minutes, they were ready to come out.

All night I've been hearing them popping and "singing" and the centers of the caps are sunk in nicely so I'm thinking my first canning was a success.. We will be enjoying the final jar over the next week or so. Husband has already told me I'm making fruit jelly next.. LOL

Aren't they pretty??

The extra jar so you can see the coloring

Destination Education - Part 1: CANADA PAVILION

Welcome to Part 1 of my series “Homeschooling for Disney World”. I will be posting these discussions weekly leading up to my own family's trip to Disney World in June.

For the month of January and the first part of February, I will be tackling the World Showcase at Epcot. Each week I will select a country for our discussion. First, I'll give you a brief overview of the country's pavilion, such as what you will find there, what type of shopping and dining you will find – basically your tourist book rundown of each area. Then I will actually delve in depth in regards the possible lesson topics one can study before visiting them with your own family.

When one begins to talk about educational opportunities at the Magic Kingdom, most peoples minds instantly go to Epcot. This isn't surprising: eleven countries are represented around a beautiful reflective lake making a stroll around the world completely possible. From left to right, the countries represented are Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, The United States, Japan, Morocco, France, The United Kingdom and Canada. Each country has a pavilion that does a great job representing each country and most of the workers at each pavilion are from the country the represent.

Upon entering the World Showcase from Future World, I tend to travel from right to left. This is because most people visiting travel the opposite direction, making it possible to avoid the masses to some degree.

THE CANADA PAVILION

The first stop on our virtual education tour is the Canada Pavilion. Representing our neighbor to the north, this pavilion displays various landmarks, sale items and souvenirs from the 2nd largest country in the world. (The Largest Country, Russia, is not represented in the World Showcase at Epcot).  Canada itself is made up of 10 provinces and 3 territories.  The ten provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan.  The three territories are the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon.  

Attractions:

As of 2014, The Canadian Lumberjack Show performs at the Canadian Pavilion. (No more Off Kilter.. ) I have yet to see this show so I have nothing to report on it.

O'Canada - In the Maple Leaf Mine located inside the Rocky Mountains, the 14-minute motion picture presented in CircleVision 360' highlights Canada's natural beauty, cities and diverse populace, and is hosted by Canadian actor Martin Short.

Shopping:

Northwest Mercantile - Kitras Art Glass handmade ornaments resemble one of the four seasons. The store offers Hatley clothing, Roots fragrances and athletic wear, Deauville perfume, Ice Wines, body care items, and Canadian hockey gear.  Christmas ornaments depicting woodland creatures are also found here.
The Trading Post - Gifts representing Canada's frontier days including maple syrup items and lumberjack shirts. 
 

Dining:

Le Cellier (the Cellar) offers sit-down dining featuring steaks and seafood paired with the wines and beers of Canada. Be sure to try the poutine and the cheddar cheese soup. Unfortunately, it is the only dining option in the Canada Pavilion and it is one of the most expensive restaurants in the Disney World Resort.

What Can We Learn From Canada

The way I introduce my children to each pavilion is to start with a quick visual introduction to the Pavilion on youtube. Ithemepark makes some great videos that capture the site and sounds of the pavilion we're studying. For the Canada Pavilion, I recommend

.  

Once my kids get a good look at the pavilion, I move on to an actual Geography/History unit on the country we are visiting. I highly recommend using unit studies by Amanada Bennett when they are  available. Expedition Canada is part ofthe Download and Go one week unit studies and are perfect for a quick five day tour of the country. These units run $8.95 but keep your eye out for specials on their website. It's not unusual for the geography and expedition units to go on sale for $5/each.  I really like these unit studies because they cover alot different topics, not just geography. This particular unit touches on How Canada got it's name, Niagara Falls, various animals found in Canada, Leif Ericsson, the invention of the zipper, and the Northern Lights to just name a few things. They really are great unit studies for younger children. ( I should mention that I am not affiliated with Amanda Bennett or Unit Studies, I just REALLY like their offerings.)

Now your kids have a good grasp on the country itself and they are ready for the actual exploration of the pavilion.

The Canada pavilion is a mixture of rustic Native Indian villages, an ornate French-flavored chateau, the Scottish influence of the Maritimes and the ruggedness of the Canadian Rockies. The crowning jewel of the Canada pavilion would be the Hotel du Canada (Hotel Canada) which represents Eastern Canada. Hotel du Canada is modeled after Ottawa's Fairmont Chateau Laurier which was designed in the French Gothic Chateauseque architecture style in order to complement the adjacent Parliament buildings. Hotel du Canada offers up two possible lessons:

My husband in front of Hotel du Canada, Victoria Gardens and the Rockies.

1. The Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel itself. For older students, the history behind the hotel is pretty fascinating. Charles Hays, the president of the Grand Trunk Railroad, paid $2 million in order to have the hotel built. Unfortunately, Hays never made it to Ottawa for the opening of his hotel – 11 days before the grand opening, he died aboard the Titanic. A great synopsis of the history of the hotel can be found here . For younger students, the physical aspects of the hotel would make a great lesson. A great launching pad would be the green roofs of the hotel. Why are they green? (Copper) Here's a great experiment for younger kids to turn pennies green that has a great explanation as to why the chemical reaction occurs. What other object can your kid think of that is made of copper and has turned green as well (The Statue of Liberty). Finally, the Fairmont Chateu Laurier offers a wonderful app that offers an interactive historical tour with a narrative walk through time including stories and historical images. Available on both Android and Apple . (App is limited to specific devices – it was not available on my EVO but I could download it to my kids Nabi Dreamtab).
2. Forced Perspective – Disney World LOVES to use forced Perspective in order to trick the eyes
   

   

   Fun with Forced Perspective

   into thinking something is much taller than what it actually is. At the Canada Pavilion, Disney has uses this technique to make you think that Hotel du Canada is 6 stories tall when in actuality it's 3 stories. You'll find this same technique used for the Rocky mountains. By placing larger
   elements towards the bottom and smaller elements at the top, it give the impression that the Hotel du Canada (and the Rockies) is taller than they actually is. A great way to show this to your student is with your camera. By placing a smaller object closer to the camera and posing properly with a larger object in the distance, you can make it look like they are interacting with the object. Can you think of any movies that used this technique? For older students, this would be a great research topic - most recently the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies use forced perspective – many old B-rated (low budget) sci-fi/horror movies like Godzilla.

Western Canada is well represented with the Rocky Mountains and the thirty foot waterfall. As mentioned above, the Rocky Mountains section was created using Forced Perspective. The plants at the bottom are much bigger than the ones at the top, in fact, the higher you go, the smaller the plants. This makes the Rockies look larger and taller than they really are. The Rockies also show the Canadian seasons, with snow in the mountains in the winter. Disney horticulturists plant all white flowers during winter months to give the appearance of snow on the ground. As spring approaches, white flowers remain in shaded areas (to look like lingering snow) and are replaced in the central areas with colors.

Canada Pavilion's Victoria Gardens.

The beautiful gardens in front of Hotel du Canada and the Rockies were inspired by the famous Butchart Gardens near Victoria, British Columbia. Located in Bentwood Bay, the Victoria's Butchart Gardens were originally a cement plant. Jennie Butchart, the wife of Portland Cement owner Jimmy Butchart, decided on making the exhausted limestone quarry into a sunken garden. The project was started in 1909 and was completed in 1921.

1. For older students, the history of Butchart Gardens would make for a great research topic. Whether it be the history of Jennie Butchart and the creation of the gardens or maybe a paper in regards to limestone mining in general.
2. Younger students will have a lot of fun making a recreation of the famous gardens. Using various colors of tissue paper and green pipe cleaners. A great tutorial can be found here. Combine all the flowers to make a gorgeous diorama.

My husband standing beside David Boxley's Totem and Longhouse

To the left of the pavilion, you'll find The Trading Post that sells authentic Canadian merchandise as well as Disney souvenirs. This store is themed to look like a Native Canadian longhouse, and three totem poles can be found directly across from it. At The Trading Post you will find authentic maple syrup, maple candies, tea, and cookies, handmade native jewelry, Maplefoot Babies stuffed animals, Anne of Green Gables books, BOMA totem poles, and faux raccoon and skunk skin caps. Outside the Trading Post you will find three totem poles. Two of the poles are made of fiberglass and were designed by Disney Imagineers. However, the third totem pole was designed by David Boxley, an internationally recognized Northwest Coast Native artist and culture bearer of the Tsimshian tribe. Boxley's totem is an authentic work of art carved from a 30 foot tall cedar log. The totem tells the story of “Raven” tricking the “Sky Chief” into the release of sun, moon and stars from a chest.

There is a plethora of educational possibilities attached to this particular area of the Canadian pavilion in regards to the Native American people.

1. 

   A quick lesson about the Northwest Coastal People, the first people of Canada. Since these people have access to food year round, they were able to live in permanent settlements. Have students build replicas of Huron longhouses out of small twigs, igloos built out of snow (make use of that upcoming snow day), or a Haida house out of popsicle sticks and a toilet paper tube for the totem.
2. Create a reading unit based on the “Raven” stories of various tribes. While the totem pole at Epcot was created by a member of the Tsimshian tribe of Alaska, the “Raven” stories are told by various different tribes. Raven Tales are a great way to introduce Native American Mythology.
3. Youtube is your friend. A quick search of “Raven Tales” brings up various episodes of a Canadian animated TV show that introduces younger children to Aboriginal folklore in a humorous and entertaining way. Each CGI episode is 24 minutes long and there are a few episodes available on youtube.
4. 

   Maple syrup is huge in Canada. Read together the book Sugarbush Spring by Marsha Wilson Chall and learn how natural maple syrup is made, a process that is exactly the way it was 200 years ago. Buy some authentic Canadian Maple syrup and allow students to compare it to pancake syrups such as Mrs Butterworths. How do they compare in color, smell and taste?
5. The Northwest Coastal People (NCP) have a very distinct style in their artwork. Take some time looking at various pictures on the internet, discussing the styles and use of colors. (Also, look at the logo for the Seattle Seahawks – its based on artwork from the NCP). Have students try their hands at reproducing the style of NCP Art on their own. 
   
   

    

   

   Artwork of the Northwest Coastal People

I mentioned last week that many of the employees at each of the World Showcase pavilions are natives of the country to which they represent. Most come to Florida through a student work program through their schools and universities. These people are almost always extremely friendly and are willing to answer questions in regards to their country. Each country gives you a great opportunity to learn a few words of their language in which to say hello, goodbye, and thank you.  Since Canada has two official languages - English and French - most of the people you meet from Canada will be English speakers and ALL employees of Disney World speak English. However, if you are lucky and one of the employees you meet in the Canadian Pavilion happens to be from Quebec where they primarily speak French, here are a few choice phrases your student can learn ahead of time (you'll use these again in the France Pavilion). 

Hello - Bonjour

Goodbye - Au Revoir

Thank You - Merci

Inukshuks

Inukshuks are human shaped landmarks made by the Inuit (Eskimo) people of Canada. They are often used to mark places that are sacred to the Inuit people and are also used as directional aides, mark migration routes of animals or places where fish can be found. Although most inuksuit appear singly, sometimes they are arranged in sequences spanning great distances or are grouped to mark a specific place.

Have some fun with your student researching and looking at photos of various Inukshuks located in Canada. Then, go make one of your own:  collect a variety of rocks from outside (Flat rocks are easiest to stack by you can use any shape) and wipe them clean. Choose a design and start stacking. You might have to try different combinations until you get the balance just right. 

Hopefully this will give you some great ideas for discussions to introduce your students to the Canadian Pavilion at Epcot. I do not know your children, so I can only make suggestions as to what are possible topics to work with. If you have any questions, comments or critiques, please, feel free to comment below :)

Next week we will take on The United Kingdom Pavilion.

When Family Is inadvertently Unsupportive To Homeschooling

It's a scenario that has reared its ugly head at one point or another in every homeschooling family's life..

We all have that one “friend” or family member who has their opinion of homeschooling and is quick to share it with you. We've all heard the unsubstantiated remarks about socialization, lower test scores, lack of accountability and even the snide comments about our own educational level as a parent.

But those aren't the comments I'm talking about today. Instead, I would like to talk about the comments that come from the people we least expect it from – the people who are suppose to be (and for the most part are) on our side. The ones who say they are 100% on board with the idea of homeschooling but inadvertently turn around and say something that cuts deeper than anything your brother in law's wife could have said behind your back. Today's writing isn't so much for you, the homeschooling teacher, but for those family members.

Why did you say that?

I have a wonderful husband. Two years ago, when we were told that the school on base could not accommodate my son and would have to send him to a school 30 miles off base, my husband agreed that educating Garrett in our own home would be optimal. I admit, I'm not a special needs teacher and I have absolutely no formal instruction in educating kids. However, we both agreed that I knew my son best and would have a better idea of how to engage him and educate him. My husband was also on board when it came time to send our youngest to public schools and instead decided to keep her home and let the two learn together.

So imagine my surprise when the other day, overhearing a conversation between him and his parents on the phone, I heard him tell his father that we would most likely be putting the kids in public schools soon.

WHAT?

This was news to me. I didn't get that memo obviously, because as far as I knew, I had absolutely no plans of putting my kids into the public system.

At first, I was hurt by his comments. Did he lose faith in my ability to teach our children? Did he think I was doing a poor job?

Finally a few days later, I sat and I asked him about it (of course, after I huffed and sighed and had him ask me 100 times “Whats wrong” only for me to reply “Nothing!”). What was his reasoning in saying something like that?

His answer : “I know that eventually you're going to put them into public schools because you're not prepared to teach them higher level maths”.

My husband was going to sell me out over Trigonometry and Calculus.

What you say can hurt

When it comes to these types of comments, a spouse or family member might think their comments are with good intentions and not realize how much their comments can hurt us, especially a mom who is new to homeschooling who is struggling to find her niche. We're at a point where we are questioning everything: Am I doing enough? Am I doing too much? Is science and history really important in the lower elementary years?

We are already questioning every little move we make so when a well intentioned family member makes a comment or asks a question that taps into our already growing lack of confidence in what we are doing, it sends us into a tailspin of self doubt and emotional sabotage. Suddenly we're sitting there questioning if what we are doing is the best decision for our children or if maybe public schools are the better choice. It's one thing to have Snooty PTA Mom Suzi to say that lack of socialization due to homeschooling will cause our children to become hardened serial killers: it might bug us but we're not really going to take it to heart. It's a completely different situation when it's our spouse, friend or family member who's opinion we hold in high regards.

What not to say

How will you teach higher level subjects (math/science) when you did not take those types of classes yourself?

This is probably the easiest question to answer my husband when we had this discussion.. Simply put: I probably won't. I know my limitations. I hated higher math in school. I got as far as Algebra 2 and that was it for me. However, the local community colleges are more than happy to let me hand over my credit card to allow my home schooled child to attend a class on Trigonometry or Calculus if they get to that point. There are also plenty of educational websites that for a monthly fee, claim they can teach my children higher math concepts. However, right now my kids are in 1^st grade and are working on 10+X=24 which I can handle just fine. Plus, we are never too old to learn ourselves. There are plenty of things I failed to learn in my years of school that I'm learning right along side with my kids so who knows, maybe I'll also learn Trigonometry as well.

Don't you feel the children are missing out on socialization with other kids their own age?

Socialization seems to be the go to argument for everything. We're so obsessed with socialization: even our dogs have to be taken out for play dates for socialization! My daughter has been in public schools since Kindergarten and before that she attended day care and so I have had the opportunity to observe this “all important” socialization. It's not all its cracked up to be. My daughter gets to sit around with

her friends and discuss “hot guys”, listen to music that is sexually explicit, get teased by teenage boys in regards to her breast size, and only gets a C in Algebra because she can't hear the teacher over all the kids running their mouths during class time. This is dependent on whether or not they have a phone in school - if they have a phone, socialization is nothing more than talking about those subjects via text messages and social media.  If anything, my daughters education is not enhanced but instead suffers because of “socialization”. School should be a place of learning. There are plenty of opportunities outside of the learning situation for kids to make friends and interact with others (church youth groups, homeschooling groups, ect).

They won’t get to do extra-curricular activities.

Someone is always going to bring this one up. Maybe Dad was the quarterback on the high school football team and has dreams of reliving his youth through his son. You're sister was in the band and believes that playing an instrument is an important skill. Guess what? Just about anything a school who attends public schools participates in, my children can also participate in. Not only that, but my kids have the opportunities to participate in even more electives then what most public schools offer. My kids can take art classes, music classes, and instrument lessons just like any other kids: my son is learning to play the bagpipes for example. Sports such as football, soccer, and baseball are offered at local YMCAs and youth recreation programs. Homeschooled kids are at dance recitals and baseball practice right along side public schooled children every day and homeschooling moms and dads are rushing from one activity to another just like the PTA moms.

They’ll never learn to compare themselves to their peers

And what is the problem with this? Lets face it, kids don't sit with each other comparing how many hours they studied, how many novels they read last month or what enrichment programs they are interested in. Instead, they listen to each other insulting, bullying and belittling others based on their weight, looks and clothing. They are talking about who's the best kisser, who's lost their virginity and who the class prude is. Kids are developing eating disorders and committing suicide over these “comparisons”. I would much rather my children learn a healthy dose of self-confidence to help them as they grow into adulthood. I would rather my children learn that failure is a stepping stone for success – that it is okay to try something and fail and then try again until you learn and succeed. I also want my kids to know that here in our learning environment, they are safe from ridicule if they do fail. They then learn the self confidence they will need later in life to not be afraid of failure and continue on until they achieve their final goal. Public schools have eliminated any idea of healthy competition anyway. Thanks go the “Everyone’s a winner” mentality, children don't learn the rewards of hard work in order to take top price. They learn at an early age that even if you put in minimal effort, you still get recognition.

They can’t graduate from home school. How will they get into a college without a diploma?

Yes, they can.. And yes, they will. Yes, it's a time consuming project for the homeschooling parent but each class we teach our kids at the high school level translates to high school credits on a transcript. Once my kids complete a course of study that both the state and I feel is equivalent to what the graduating seniors at the public school have accomplished, then I will issue them a diploma. I'll even let them pick out whatever colors for a cap and gown and we will have senior pictures taken for the wall.  Also, many colleges and universities allow high school students to take one or two college courses per semester to go towards both high school credits and college credits. 

What you DON'T say also hurts

Finally, a point I should make is that sometimes its not what someone says but what they don't say that hurts. When I put my heart into teaching my children and my spouse shows little to no interest in what we have done, it hurts. The slight might not have been meant but that doesn't make it hurt any less. Add that to the fact that I'm one of those who needs affirmation of some sort from my husband and this creates a problem. I want/need to hear my husband say I'm doing a great job with the kids, that he feels that the education I am providing for them is at least adequate (preferably more than adequate) in his eyes. There are days I feel like I'm putting the kids on display (Hey Ash, tell daddy what the colors on the flag represent! Garrett, tell Daddy what the capital of Brazil is!) only to have little response as far as those needed words of affirmation go. This is disheartening to the homeschooling parent. However, I know that my kids know more about a large variety of subjects then their public school peers (they even know more some topics then my public school taught 10^th grader, who cannot tell you where the state of New York is on the map). I plan on keeping it that way. So my affirmation will come not in the words I'm not hearing right now but will come in the form of two young adults who will be well rounded, well educated and hopefully successful in the real world.

But just in case you are a loved one of a homeschooling parent – try to make a point of telling them they are doing a good job and ask the kids what they learned today. Those two simple things can make a world of difference.

Rotel Chicken Spaghetti

One of the sad things about this life is that sometimes people come into it for a very brief time and then they leave. Usually you pick up a little something from each person you meet - it might be a life lesson or words of wisdom or it could be a happy memory.. Or, in my case, it's a great recipe that continues almost 15 years after I've met them.

Nicole was an ex girlfriend of my ex husband's cousin. We called her "Red" because she had bright red hair that reminded us of a penny. Red and Mike (the cousin) dated for a few months and they often came over to my inlaws house as we all sat around playing games like Uno and Chinese checkers.  One day, Red brought over a chicken spaghetti dish that I fell in love with, so she gave me the recipe.. Mike and Red went their separate ways and she never contacted us after the fact, but the recipe is still a reminder of our brief friendship in my house.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you. There is absolutely nothing healthy about this meal. Sure, you could try to change it to make it healthy, but why??  That would be like trying to make Strawberry Cheesecake more healthy.  Consider it an indulgence.

This makes its appearance in our house maybe twice a year. When I do make it, I always make a large pot of the sauce and then it gets used for alot o various things: its great on top of scrambled eggs, over rice, thin it down a bit with water and make a cheese soup, put it over broccoli or cauliflower.


Here's what you need  (recipe can be doubled for larger batches):

1 lb Velteeta Processed Cheese
1 can Rotel canned tomatoes and green chilies (I use the original) - DO NOT DRAIN
2 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup water

1 lb.  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

(I am going to be honest here, I've been known to just buy 2 large cans of cooked chicken, or buy a precooked rotisserie chicken and shred it up in this instead of going through the trouble of cutting up and browning chicken breasts.. lol)

1 pk spaghetti, cooked

salt/pepper to taste

Optional: you can add onions, bell pepper and mushrooms if you want. My family won't touch anything with even a micro-smidgen of mushroom in it so we opt not to add anything.

Brown the chicken in a skillet until cooked. Chop up the velteeta into one inch cubes.  Then, take everything and dump it into a crock pot.. Mix together and turn it on low and cook for 4-6 hours, taking the time to stir every couple of hours.  

You can also make this in a pot, however be very careful not to scorch the cheese while doing so. 

Once the cheese sauce is complete melted and mixed, serve over the cooked spaghetti or(you can mix the spaghetti into the sauce as well, whatever you prefer.  Don't even think about the calories  ;)

New Series: Educational Countdown to Disney World

 Our family is huge on Disney World.

My Husband with the Big Cheese on our Honeymoon

I've personally been three times, my oldest daughter has been twice (both before she was age 5) and my husband has been one time, for our late honeymoon. Thank God he loved it as much as I do or I might have second guessed our marriage vows. LOL  My two youngest have yet to go but they know all about it and could tell you every right they want to ride, every character they want to meet and what restaurants they want to eat at (especially the ones that serve Mickey Waffles!!). We are without a doubt a Disney family.

We've been trying to take the kids to Disney for a few years now. Alyssa is now almost 16 so its been 12 years since she's been.  We had an 8 day trip completely planned out and paid for last year but the Air Force had other ideas for us. This year it's Disney World or bust for us.

Alyssa with Aurora.. February of 2003 (I think?)

If you've ever gone to Disney World for any length of time, you know there's a lot of planning involved in the process. Disney World is not a place you can just decide to go visit and expect to have a good time.  For example: you have to make advanced dinner reservations 180 days in advance. This means you have to plan 6 months ahead as to what you might feel like eating each day or your trip - I barely know what I want to eat for dinner tomorrow night, much less half a year ahead of time.  Add to the fact that before you can even start to think about what dinners you need to make reservations for, you'll need to know what park you plan to go to, what the hours for that park will those days and will there be any limited entertainment such as the Spectromagic parade, Fantasmic on days that you'll be there.  The last thing you want to happen is you stayed up til 3am, managed to get a hard to get dinner reservation at Be Our Guest only to realize that the ONLY showing of Fantasmic for the week you are there is scheduled for that same day and time.

Statue in Japan Pavilion

Simply put:  you're going to spend at least 6 months to a year planning your trip to Disney World.  And what does a homeschooling mom do, once in Disney Planning Mode, during those 6 to 9 months? Why, use Disney World as a base for their lesson plans leading up to the trip, of course.

Or at least, so I thought......

Like any other homeschooling parent, I searched and scoured the internet looking for units or lesson plans that other homeschooling parents who came before me might have posted on the net in the hopes of making my task easier and I found very little. At best, I found reference to a book another mom self published that no longer seems to be published.

There's zilch out there......

Disney World offers so many educational opportunities on so many various levels so I am actually pretty surprised by this. The most obvious

Your host at the Mexican Mercado at twilight

being Epcot and its eleven countries in the World Showcase. Where else can you stroll around a beautiful lake and visit Morocco, Canada, Italy and France all in the same day?  You can walk up the stairs of a Mesoamerican pyramid and shop at a Mexican market at twilight with a volcano in the distance then walk outside to visit the Temple of Heaven in China.   Just the geography/cultural lessons that can be taught based on the World Showcase are endless.

But expand beyond just the World showcase and you have even more potential. Spaceship Earth is a wonderful platform for a lesson about geometry and geodesic architecture or about the history of communications and ancient civilizations. The Land Pavilion is a great launching area for discussions about resource conservation, agriculture, horticulture, and symbiosis.  The living seas opens possibilities in regards to the oceans, marine animals and even gives kids the opportunity to learn about the ocean from a 200 year old turtle who talks like a surfer from California.

Replica of the Temple of Heaven at the Chinese Pavilion

But that's just a small part of Epcot.. And there are 3 other parks with possibilities waiting.

While the parks are a great place for small impromptu lessons, let's be honest, kids aren't going to want to do school when there are rides, Princesses and giant mice to be found.  This is why tailoring lessons to include Disney World in the months leading up to a big trip are more beneficial.  A lesson about the Chinese culture and the Temple of Heaven will prepare them to know what they are looking at once they pass through the Paifang Gate. They will be more excited to see a structure they recognize from lessons before the trip then they will if you decide to whip out a handout and start a lesson about Chinese cosmogony.

If all goes well, from June 29th to July 6th we will be visiting Disney World. Starting next week and up until we leave Disney World, I will be incorporating lessons about various subjects that the kids will
encounter while there. Possible topics are endless but may include: King Arthur,  acoustics, botany and plant recognition, Aztec and Mayan civilizations, Native Americans, American flag etiquette, forced perspective, The Wizard of Oz, history of fireworks, model trains, space exploration, the American Revolution and classic literature. As I begin putting these lessons together, I will begin to include them here as well so that any other homeschooling parents who are planning a Disney World Education can have a head start.  This will not be a full stand alone curriculum and will not meet common core guidelines but will instead be a great supplement to substitute for or to add to your existing curriculum as you see fit.

So I hope that you will join with me and my family as we have fun with our Educational Countdown to Disney World. 

First Day - January 2015

This year, I'm joining the First Day Challenge over at Journey To Josie. One the first day of every month, I will take pictures of what our day is like in order to give you a quick glimpse into our lives and what we are up to.

Since January 1st was a holiday, we're all being lazy.. Sipping coffee, being goofy, playing video games and just enjoying being a family together.. I forgot to take pictures of Breakfast and lunch but I promise to include many more pictures next time around :)

What I Do Each Morning While Sipping Coffee

Why have teenagers if you can't get them to fetch you coffee

Last Week for the Tree

All Together

Everyday for 2 Hours, this is what we see..

Hi Garrett

Listening to music on her Nabi

Being Goofy Together

Still being Goofy

Hi Lex :)

Ashleigh's Artwork of Newton

Newton is not impressed

First Sunset of 2015

Good Boy

Cornbread for Gold

New Years Dinner for Prosperity, Luck and Money

One Word for 2015

The clock is slowly ticking away the last few hours of what remains of the year 2014. I honestly can't say I'm sorry to see it go. This has been a very trying year for our family and while it had a number of "Ups" that we celebrated, it had enough "downs" in it to make us glad this year is over.

Each year, we always reflect upon what the Lord has provided for us through the year. And this year, it was suggested to pick a word to reflect my thoughts for the year of 2015.. I thought long and hard about this and I came up with one word - PRAYER!

There have been so many times in our lives together that my husband and I were not so sure how we would get by and one of us would just say "pray about it" and we were always provided a way to keep our heads above the water. This year was no exception:  After taking a full year to plan and pay off our family vacation to Disney World, we were suddenly faced with the very grave threat that we could be without any income, no place to go and no roof over our heads. Due to budget cuts for the government, my husband was told that his position was being reduced - that out of 38 Airmen in his career field, 35 of them would be cut loose and released from the Air Force. That meant of all the airmen in his entire career field, only 3 people in the entire country would be picked, not just his unit, and his unit was sending 3 people up for selection. To make matters worse, there were no jobs for me in my career field when we moved here, so I had been out of work since 2010 and did not have credentials for the state of California, so there was no way I could get a job to support us. We were told that we wouldn't know for sure if he would remain in the Air Force until September - our Disney trip was planned for July-August.

We debated long and hard. If we cancelled the Disney Trip, that was 5K that we would have in our bank account to live off of if he was cut from the military.  We also debated if we would ever be able to afford another 8 day trip to Disney World if he got out. Should we take the trip that might end up being the trip of a lifetime and deal with the finances later or should we cancel the trip and put that money away just in case.

We decided to cancel the trip. I explained to our travel agent what the situation was and she was able to get our entire amount back on the trip, with the exception of the price of the theme park tickets which were non-refundable.  We waited as the time for our trip came and went and the September date got closer and closer. We prayed.. We prayed ALOT.. We prayed for Charles to be one of the 3 who got to stay which made us feel like terrible people because we knew that meant if he stayed, the other two guys would be eliminated. We knew that if he stayed, that still meant 35 men/women were being cut and if they had families, they faced the same uncertainty that we did. We prayed that if he was cut, that maybe God would provide another opportunity for us: maybe my husband would be offered a job working for Boeing or Lockheed Martin.. We had no idea what was going to happen, but we knew that it was in God's hands..

God heard our prayers... And then some..

During this time, the Air Force offered many of its personnel early retirement packages as well as early release of enlistment with separation pay. This wasn't an offer given to the 38 men/women in my husbands field who were up for elimination, as they all had less than 6 years time in service but it was offered to many who had 6 or more years in. Many took this offer which meant that for every person who took the offer, another person who might have been eliminated got to stay. Before the September date came up, we found out that instead of 38 people in my husbands career field being released, enough people had taken the offer and NOBODY out of those 38 would be eliminated. My husbands job was safe, the two other guys in his unit were safe, and 35 other families in the Air Force were safe.. Unfortunately, 3500+ still lost their jobs but original figures were putting close to 14K to lose their jobs.. God Is Good..

That same time frame, we found out my husband passed his test for Staff Sergeant and would be up for promotion. More money in our bank account, more opportunities for him as far as advancement.  Again, God is Good.

So whats up for our family in 2015?

Once again, we will try to make it to Florida for an 8 day trip to Disney World. This time the trip is significantly cheaper - the theme park tickets are already paid for which means that is 3000 dollars we don't have to worry about. But this time, we can enjoy ourselves without stressing like we would have done if we would have went last year as planned. 

This year will see us entering yet another year in our homeschooling ventures. Taxes will allow me to buy curriculum for next year (Math U See vs Saxton, Sonlight vs Memoria Press). The Schoolhouse review crew will give me an opportunity to review curriculum and products and to bring those reviews to my readers, but it also provides a way of providing curriculum to my kids that I wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise.

2015 will also be the year my daughter turns 16, which means learning to drive, boys and dating.. These are things I haven't given a whole lot of thought about but now its inevitable. My husband and I will have to sit down and figure out the rules to dating my daughter, only it won't be a sitcom, at least, not for us.

My husband is talking about possibilities outside of the military at this point. When April rolls around, he will only have 1 year left in his enlistment so the question will be whether to re-enlist or to find a job in the private sector with someone like Lockheed Martin. If he chooses to reenlist the question will be whether he can cross train into the field he originally wanted (Space Operations) or will he stay in the field he is currently in.

With all the uncertainties that 2015 might hold, one thing is for certain, it's in God's hands.. We will pray about it as we always do, hoping for answers or at the very least guidance as to what decisions to make. In that sense, 2015 will not be much different from 2014.

We will pray as we drive from California to Florida and back.. We will be praying that the decisions I made regarding curriculum and homeschooling will be the right ones.. I personally will be praying day in and day out that I don't screw these kids up too badly.. We will be praying that my daughter will be safe on the roads when she starts to drive and that God will watch her to make sure others on the road are also driving safely. We will pray that whatever pimple faced boy who decides to ring our doorbell to pick up my daughter will be a nice young man with good intentions and are more like her stepfather was at that age and less like what her father was like.. (LOL).. We will be praying that God will help in the decision making my husband makes and help guide his heart with wisdom.

Then there are the prayers that are always there at every moment of every day- for the health and well being of those that I love. Whether it be my own family, my ex husbands family, my husbands family, I pray for them. I pray for my friends and acquaintances whenever I see them asking for prayer and sometimes when they don't ask for them.

My final prayer is always for myself however. Maybe that is selfish of me. My prayer is to grow more spiritual, to set an example for my family. My husband is not a believer but it's hard to pray for him to find God if I cannot set a proper example for him.  So my prayer is for my faith to continue to grow, for God to use me in such a way that my family is able to at least want to pursue a relationship with God because of what I inspire in them.

So here's to 2015.. May it continue to be a year of Prayer in my household. 

The members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew would love to share their words for 2015 with you. Click on the banner below and read the wonderful messages of encouragement and inspiration they have to share with you :)