Wordless Wednesday - Bread Bowls

 

 

 

Bread Bowls

1 1/2 tablespoons yeast(2 packs)
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
7 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

In a large bowl (or bowl of an electric mixer-I used my kitchen aid), dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture; beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at medium speed after each addition until a soft but not sticky dough is formed.

When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes (or let knead in an electric mixer). Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Punch dough down, and divide into 6-8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a round ball. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal (or use silpat liners or parchment paper). Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, beat together egg white and 1 tablespoon water; lightly brush the loaves with half of this egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

 

 

 

I divided mine into 9 portions (since there are 3 of us). The bowls were a bit small but they worked fine. I will try 6 portions next time. Husband thinks a bigger bowl will be needed for chili, LOL. These will be so great for soup dinners this fall.

Science Experiment–Acid and Teeth Update

Here is an update to our tooth vs. acid experiment. A very successful experiment and an easy one to conduct.
Just a warning the last picture is gross and will make you want to brush your teeth immediately. 

We have been doing an experiment listed in the Apologia Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy.



You can see the beginning of our experiment here. 

We used a baby tooth. Here are our results: Within 21 days all enamel was gone and the tooth had softened considerably.

Day 1 

Day 10

Day 21

Wordless Wednesday

After having been stuck inside playing hot wheels and Legos, due to the heat and allergies

he is enjoying the outdoors and cooler weather. He is always on the go

running and

biking and hiking

and  tug of war. Fall a great time to be outside.

Weekly Review 9 & 10

 

 

Week 9 for homeschool was a long week.  Kiddo has been resisting doing school work, dawdling, arguing and one day he threw a honest to goodness temper tantrum. I don’t think he has ever done that in his 7 years. 

We got through school barely it was more of a tug of war but we got through it. 

I decided over the weekend something has to change I was not going to spend the next several years fighting him to get his work done.  We had been starting school around 10 a.m. which gave him time to get up play burn of some steam before school time. 

I decided to change our schedule and the order in which we do our work. I took his binder and made labels for his folders, one for each subject. I then added assignment sheets where each day I wrote what he had to finish before anything else can be done.

Sunday night before bed we sat him down and explained the new rules. He was not happy. We told him as soon as he got up and ate breakfast he had to complete everything listed on his assignment sheet. If he finished before lunch, great he could play until lunch. Immediately following lunch, I do mean as soon as plates are cleared it is school time. We finish our schoolwork and then it is free time. 

It has worked better than I though it would.  Monday he grumbled a bit about having too much to do but he did it and finished in time to play a little before lunch. I was surprised to see he was ready to tackle the rest of his work right after lunch without even a grumble. The week has gone smoothly we have finished more work in less time then we have been doing.

For his assignment sheet, he has one grammar page, a math worksheet/teaching textbook lesson, handwriting page, wordly wise, and sometimes a history drawing worksheet.  After lunch we cover history, science, Latin, spelling and Bible.

I hope this schedule works for at least a little while, it will give me time to come up with another approach. One thing for sure homeschool is never boring

 

P.S. Update, We are in week two of me giving him assignments to complete first thing in the morning. It is going great,he does his work with no complaints at all. He enjoys free time before lunch and it is ready to finish school right after lunch. I am loving our new schedule.

Wordless Wednesday

I have no picture this week  Our camera bit the dust last week.  It was only a year and half old.  Finally after looking at a 100 cameras it seems, research and reading reviews I ordered a new camera.  The weather has not been working with us, and I am not complaining we are so happy to see rain, I have not had the opportunity to take many photos.  The few inside shots have been good, color and lighting accurate.  I can’t wait to take some outside shots and it has a panoramic mode. 
Here is the camera we decided on and it better last longer than a year and a half!

Science Experiment–Teeth and Acid

 

In Chapter 4 of Apologia Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology there is an experiment using a tooth.  We saved a baby tooth Kiddo had lost recently.  We wrote the Tooth Fairy a letter and let her know we needed to keep the tooth for school, she was fine with that and left him money and the tooth. 

All you need for this experiment is:

1. A tooth

2..A coke

3. A plastic cup

4. Time

 

 

 

You put the tooth in the bottom of a cup and pour plenty of soda on top.  Every few days you check on the tooth and over the course of several days you will be able to document the effect acid has on tooth enamel. While tooth enamel is very strong eventually the acid will wear down the enamel.  I will be sure and post a update at the end of the experiment. 

Weekly Review– Week 8

 

I have no photos for this week our camera broke and I am currently shopping for a new one.  The life with a boy, a never ending supply of items to deconstruct.

This week we did a subject a day. I did this last year and Kiddo liked it. It changed up our schedule and made things more interesting.  Monday was a long day, we did grammar which consisted of spelling, grammar, Latin and handwriting, Tuesday was History day, Wednesday was Science, Thursday was Science and Friday was workbook day, Logic, Maps,etc.  We did Bible everyday like usual.

He had his first Latin test and I even graded it. We don’t really do grades yet.  He made a 90 because he missed two questions. He told me that grade was too high, it should be lower because he missed two questions I should take off 10 points per question, LOL. I told I would remember that for later.

This next week we will get back to our regular schedule with hopefully a lot of outdoor time thrown in.  It has finally cooled off here and if the rain lets up some we will take advantage of the cooler air.  It has been so hot here and his allergies have been so bad we have been stuck in the house. 

I am still looking for some fall activities for us to do.  Most of the things available here are for ages 8 and up.  I have found locally there is a gap between the ages of 5 – 8 of activities. Once he is a year older there will be many more options.

I think we are going to join a local gym that has an indoor pool for some more swim practice. I also found a place that offers horse riding lessons and we might try that.  He is signed up for fall bowling league, he wanted to play again with his team mates from summer. The first of the year we are going to start TKD back, he has been on break this summer and my husband is too busy with work this fall for us to fit that much time into our schedule. He will also be training for his first kid type marathon in the spring. 

I hope everyone has a good week.