Quote from Forum Archives on November 24, 2002, 6:23 pm

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE HOPE CHEST:
Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #52 part 2
November 2002
The Fruitful Family
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

This is part 2 of the Hope Chest Home School News, published by Virginia
Knowles.

Web site: www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html
Personal e-mail: [email protected]
Subscriptions: [email protected]
Unsubscriptions: [email protected]

 

In this part, you will find:

 

• Reaping the Harvest: The Bounty of Abundant-Life Homeschooling: Book by
Diana Waring, Review by Virginia Knowles
• How to Plan a Unit Study: An Excerpt from Common Sense Excellence by
Virginia Knowles
• Ideas for a Unit Study on Fruit
• Fruity Recipes: Pineapple Pie, Holiday Wassail and Streusel Muffins
• Fruit-Filled Household Tips by Virginia Knowles

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reaping the Harvest: The Bounty of Abundant-Life Homeschooling
Book by Diana Waring
Review by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When I first saw this new book in a home school catalog, I knew I had to
get my hands on a copy. I loved Diana's earlier book Beyond Survival
because it meshed so well with my first book, The Real Life Home School
Mom, which I was trying to write at the time! I was not at all
disappointed by this sequel, which is geared for the teen years.

 

On the back cover, is says, "While not meant to be a
"how-to-fix-what's-wrong-with-my-teenager" book, Reaping the Harvest is a
pro-active, grace-filled approach to child-rearing, using timely
principles from real-life experiences that may help you avoid typical
"teenage" behavior." That's true, especially the "grace-filled" part!
Much of what is written about home schooling teens is more "Thou Shalt
Not" list of rules. Not so with this one!

 

The book is split into three parts:Tilling the Ground, Sowing the Seed,
and Reaping the Harvest. The second two parts of the book are quite
appropriate for your teens to read, and are in fact, written partly to
them. They deal a lot with motivation, learning styles, finding out where
God has called you, using your head as well as your heart, becoming a
world changer, etc.

 

Diana shares many experiences from her own family, as well as a wide
variety of families she has met throughout her years of home school
ministry. Her tales of their family adventure in New Zealand particularly
delighted me, since I dream of going there someday! I like Diana's
transparency as she relates what she has learned along the way. We see
the author as a work-in-progress rather than as an
arrived-and-unchanging-expert. (She is still an expert, in my opinion,
having raised three great children to young adulthood.) She is warm,
personal and funny in her style.

 

Here's an excerpt from the concluding chapter which meshes nicely with
our "fruitful" theme:

 

~~~~

"One of the most valuable aspects of homeschooling is that parents can
give children a rootedness, a sense of belonging, a connectedness to
family. As they grow into young adults, our homeschooled children know
who they are, they know where they come fromt, and they have a deep sense
of family identity, which is increasingly rare in today's culture.

 

Our relationship is not institutional, not just that of caregiver/bill
payer to a dependent. It is instead a deep and abiding friendship between
parents and children. We have stepped outside the norm of our culture,
where the attitude seems to be, "Just survive until they're eighteen.
Then they'll be gone, and you'll be done!" Instead, we homeschoolers are
grateful for each day with them and consider our children's departure
from home as a gaping hole that will require the Lord Himself to fill. We
work long and hard to give them "roots" of traditions, memories and
identity.

 

It takes commitment nowadays to give roots to your child. It takes time.
It takes sacrifice. It takes energy. It takes selflessness. At the same
time, in the mystery of how God formed the creation, roots grow
naturally. Consider this: a farmer has to work and put out his own effort
to plant the seed, yet he wisely knows that only God can grow the plant,
only God can give the increase, only God can give the plant roots.
Similarly, in our own families, it takes work on our side, effort that we
expend, but it is God who truly grows the roots in our children. These
roots spring out of having shared experiences, like a camping trip when
you spent all your time huddled in sleeping bags due to the cold rain,
insider jokes that only the family knows and appreciates, memories of
spontaneous fun or of unexpected difficulty, and conflicts resolved.
Roots grow naturally living day by day in a family that cherishes each of
its members."

 

~~~

Reaping the Harvest is published by Diana Waring History Alive!
Mailing address: PO Box 378, Spearfish, SD 57783
Web site: www.dianawaring.com

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOW TO PLAN A UNIT STUDY
Excerpt from
Common Sense Excellence:
Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The following is an excerpt from the chapter "How to Plan a Unit Study"
in my newest book, Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education
for Preschool to 5th Grade. Other sections in this chapter, not included
here, are Long Range Planning and Unit Study Topic List.

 

WHAT IS A UNIT STUDY?

 

Unit study is a natural common sense excellence method of learning in
which you choose a theme, and then incorporate various school subjects,
such as literature, language arts skills, history, geography, careers,
science, technology, art, music, and math application. There is a logical
connection between subjects. They all fit together naturally, just like
in the real world.

 

Each unit study is different. Some unit studies concentrate primarily on
one subject (history, science, etc.) with the others tucked in. Some are
based on holidays or family trips. Some are more activity-oriented, while
others are book-based, depending on the topic and your teaching style.
You can design your own unit study plan, buy a package or guide, or
borrow from a friend. Unit studies can take a few days, week, month, or
year. You could do them all year or just once in a while. You can plan
several at a time or do one spontaneously based on a question or interest
from your child. Don't get bogged down in details. If a unit study bombs,
you learn how not to do one the next time.

 

A unit study doesn't have to be elaborate. It can be as simple as going
to the library and checking out a few books. Find what style suits you.
Don't be discouraged if you are not creative or organized. You don't have
to plan a whole year of unit studies ahead of time, or overload on
creative activities in each one.

 

A unit study can include more than one child, but individual attention is
still needed. One goal of unit studies is to build family unity and save
mom's planning efforts, but you still need to spend separate time on
language arts and math at each child's level. It may be helpful to plan
one time of day for skills curriculum (phonics, grammar, punctuation,
math, music theory, etc.) and then another time slot for content
curriculum (unit studies covering history, literature, science, art
appreciation, etc.)

 

Social studies and science themes can be closely integrated. Human
culture and the physical world affect each other. People discover
scientific principles and then act them out in history. When we studied
Ancient Egypt, a history theme, we learned science too: how a mummy is
made, how pyramids were built without machines, and how land was
irrigated. In our next unit, we studied the entire desert habitat,
including biology (plants and animals), geology (sand dunes), weather
(rain patterns), geography (comparing deserts around the world), history
(archaeologists), and sociology (Native Americans, African nomads).
Social studies and science emphases can be alternated and intertwined.

 

Language arts and math can be incorporated into unit studies. Research
and literature count as reading. Spelling and vocabulary lists, creative
writing projects, and dictation selections, and math word problems can
complement the unit study.

 

STEPS FOR PLANNING A UNIT STUDY

 

TOPIC AND TIME AVAILABLE: Pick a topic which is interesting to your
children, and which incorporates several school subjects. Whatever you
choose, your child should: hypothesize, integrate related information,
analyze, research, read, write, etc. How much time you can spend
determines how specific you can get with your topic. You could cover
flowers in a week, but botany could easily take a month. Children usually
start to lose interest after about three or four weeks of concentrated
study on a topic; don't frustrate them with overkill.

 

SUB-TOPICS AND SCHOOL SUBJECTS: Make a list of sub-topics for your theme.
A study of the Middle Ages could include castles, knights and weaponry,
the Crusades, Vikings and their ships, famous kings, peasant life, food
and clothing, fairy tales, etc. As you list the sub-topics, integrate
various school subjects such as: Bible, scientific principle,
experiments, technology, nature study, history, geography, government,
careers, language skills, literature, creative writing, math application,
art, music, life skills, etc.

 

OBJECTIVES: Write specific goals of what you want your child to
understand by the end of this unit. You won't learn everything, but you
should attempt to lay a framework for future learning and whet their
appetites to explore more on their own.

 

LEARNING MODES: Adapt activities to your children. Cater to their
learning styles, whether visual, auditory, kinesthetic/tactile, etc. Use
a variety of approaches to help lock in the material from many angles.
Consider each of your children when you do this planning. Be sure to ask
them for ideas about what they would like to do for this unit study,
because children can be chock full of great ideas. It also gives them a
sense of being included and being important!

 

AGE LEVELS: Preschool and kindergarten children especially like picture
books, fun songs, coloring, and make-believe. Primary grade children can
read books, write a little, draw pictures, make crafts, and do simple
experiments. Older students can research, write papers, create
independent projects, and wrestle with issues and current events. Choose
some books to read to all of your children and then give age-appropriate
activities to each child, with older doing more than younger. Older
children can occasionally help younger children by reading to them,
assisting with projects, and answering questions.

 

RESOURCES: List what you already have: books, encyclopedia articles,
videos, music, magazines, recipes, instructions, pictures, craft and
experiment supplies, web sites and phone numbers to call for more
information. Include titles, authors and page numbers so you can easily
make assignments. Check the indexes of any poetry or story anthologies
you may own. Write down what you will need, and where you might find it.
Make games, worksheets, and pictures. Plan purchases and order in time.

 

SCHEDULE: Map out a tentative schedule. What will you do each day? How
much will you cover in a week? For a three-week unit, you could tackle
one major sub-topic each week. You might need to raid the library first
and refine your day-by-day plan based on your selections. Vary activities
from day to day to prevent boredom. Start with the simple and work
towards the complex. Plan buffer time and decide which activities are
optional so you'll know what to skip in a crunch. Check newspaper and
magazine calendars for field trip ideas.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IDEAS FOR A UNIT STUDY ON FRUIT
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Here are some ideas for a unit study on fruit that incorporates all of
the school subjects. Even if you aren't going to do a unity study, browse
through these anyway, because you may want to do just one or two things,
such as some of the crafts!

 

SCIENCE

 

• What is fruit? It is the part of the plant that contains the seeds!
Sometimes it is edible, and sometimes it isn't. Some things that we think
of as only vegetables are actually fruits, such as tomatoes or green
peppers.
• How is fruit formed, and what is its purpose? Dissect a piece of fruit
to see what is inside. Some fruits have cores with seeds, others have
pits. Strawberries have little black seeds on the outsides.
• How do the seeds use the flesh of the fruit to help them grow into new
plants?
• Some fruits grow on trees, some on bushes, some on vines. Can you think
of examples of each?
• Visit an orange grove, orchard, or a pick-your-own fruit farm. This is
a blast! We have done this with apples and strawberries.
• Sort kinds of fruit into categories (i.e. citrus fruits include
oranges, grapefruits, lemons, etc.)
• Humans aren't the only fruit eaters! Set out cut fruit at your bird
feeder or other outdoor spot, and see what species of birds or other
animals will eat it.
• How do chemists concoct imitation fruit flavors and odors to use in
candies, shampoos and other products?
• What pests or diseases can damage fruit crops? What do farmers do to
prevent this?

 

SOCIAL STUDIES

• Different kinds of fruit grow in different places in the world. Show on
a map or globe where each one grows. Talk about how tropical fruits grow
best in warm areas, etc. How can these fruits be exported to our country
and still be fresh?
• Find some exotic fruits at your grocery store or a local fruit stand.
What do they taste like?
• Talk about the use of fruit in history. For example, sailors would
suffer from a serious illness called scurvy if they didn't have fruit
available on long sea voyages, so captains would take along limes and
other citrus fruits just so their crews would survive! The yucca fruit
has a place in Native American culture.
• Read about John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) who planted apple trees
throughout the American frontier.
• How does your government regulate the growth, importation, and sale of
fruit? Americans can learn about the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Follow the journey of fruit products from farm to table. What kind of
careers are used along the way?

 

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Find stories or poems about fruit, such as Aesop's "The Fox and the
Grapes." Make up your own!
• Set out a piece of fruit and write a descriptive paragraph about it.
Include the five senses: taste, touch, sight, hearing, and smell.
• Have each person describe a kind of fruit and let the others guess what
it is.
• Compile a list of folk sayings that refer to fruit, such as "One rotton
apple spoils the bunch," or "That's like comparing apples and oranges,"
or "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," or "An apple a day keeps
the doctor away."
• Learn how to spell common fruit names: apple, orange, pear, berry,
banana, etc.
• View an exotic alphabet of fruit at:
www.thefruitpages.com/alphabet.shtml

 

MATH

• Use small pieces of fruit (such as raisins) as math manipulatives for
adding, multiplying, etc.
• Cut fruit apart into halves, quarters, and eighths to demonstrate
fractions.
• Compute total cost of fruit purchase using price per pound. Compare the
cost of buying fruit by the package versus individual pieces.
• Make up word problems about a fruit stand or lemonade stand. Practice
making change at a pretend or real stand.

 

HOME EC

• Talk about the nutritional value of fruit, such as vitamins, dietary
fiber, etc. How does this change if the fruits are canned, frozen, dried,
juiced, or cooked?
• Why do we need to wash fruit before we eat it?
• Find recipes using fruit. Make a big fruit salad with lots of different
kinds!
• Try growing strawberries in a small garden patch. It is easiest to
start from plants rather than seeds. These will send out runners to start
new plants.
• Which varieties of fruit are most economical, and during which season?
Compare prices per pound, taking into account how much edible weight will
be lost from peeling or coring.
• Assemble a variety of fruit artistically into a basket and bring it to
a friend who needs a lift.
• Make fruit scented soaps. (It's quite easy to make glycerin soap using
supplies from your local craft store. You can buy small vials of fruit
scents to add in.)

 

ART

• Look at art with fruit in it. For an on-line art tour of 52 works of
art featuring fruit, visit Carol Gerten's Fine Art site at:
http://cgfa.floridaimaging.com. Select SEARCH and type in the word FRUIT.
• Draw or paint a still life with fruit. This is a good subject for
learning how to shade various shapes of objects.
• Dip fruit sections in paint and use like rubber stamps.
• Make an orange pomander with cloves:
http://home.inreach.com/marthac/craft4.html
• Do crafts using dried fruits: www.seedsofknowledge.com/driedfruit.html
• Make a doll from dried apples: www.apples-ne.com/appledoll.html

 

BIBLE

• Using a concordance or Bible software, find verses about fruit.
• Talk about the concepts of sowing and reaping, pruning, etc.
• List different kinds of fruit mentioned in the Bible. Remember the huge
bunches or grapes that the 12 spies found on their foray into Canaan? How
about the fruit that caused Adam and Eve to stumble?

 

WEB SITES

• Apples & More page at University of Illinois:
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/apples/
• USDA Fun Fruit Facts: www.barc.usda.gov/psi/fl/funfacts.html

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRUITY RECIPES:
Pineapple Pie
Holiday Wassail
Streusel Muffins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

For your holiday pleasure, I am including three fruity recipes!

 

PINEAPPLE PIE

 

This recipe is literally "as easy as pie" since there is no measuring or
baking! Even a preschooler can dump and mix the ingredients in this
dessert. I originally got it from the Serve the Best cookbook, published
as a fundraiser by Bethany Adoption Services many years ago. This is my
adapted version.

 

Ingredients:

 

15 oz can of crushed pineapple, drained
1 pint sour cream (we use fat free)
1 large box vanilla pudding mix
2 graham cracker pie crusts (optional -- you can purchase or make your
own)

 

Mix the first three ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into graham cracker
crust, a large baking pan, or individual dessert dishes as desired. Chill
in the refrigerator until serving time. You can also dollop whipped
topping onto it.

 

HOLIDAY WASSAIL

 

My friend Kelly Balagia served this wassail at a Rubies and Roses
(mother/daughter) tea party a few years ago. We made it for Thanksgiving,
and my husband said it was his favorite, and one of my young daughters
asked for some more "weasel." It is now a Thanksgiving and Christmas
standard in our house. I must confess that I tampered with the recipe [as
noted with brackets], but it still turned out great.

 

64 oz. apple cider [or plain apple juice]
1 pint cranberry juice [or cran-raspberry]
4-6 tbs. white sugar
3 cinnamon sticks [or several liberal shakes of ground cinnamon]
1 tsp. allspice
1/2 orange covered with whole cloves [1 tsp. ground cloves and 1/2 cup
orange juice]

 

Heat for about 30 minutes on medium in a large stock pot. Serve in mugs.

 

STREUSEL MUFFINS

 

(Grunberg Haus, Waterbury-Stowe, Vermont)

 

2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tbs. pumpkin pie spice (or allspice)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup oil (scant)
2 cups peeled chopped Macintosh apples

 

Streusel topping - cut together:
4 tsp. butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

 

(Note: You may wish to double the streusel topping, especially if your
apples aren't very sweet.)

 

Combine dry ingredients, stir well. Combine wet ingredients. Mix both
together until just moist. Take care not to over mix. Scoop batter into
18 greased or paper-lined muffin cups, leaving a little room for the
topping. Top with streusel. Bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRUIT-FILLED HOUSEHOLD TIPS
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

SERVING CRANBERRY SAUCE: To serve canned cranberry sauce without mangling
the contents, open one end of the can fully. Then turn it over and open
just about an inch from the other end. The release in suction will enable
the sauce to slide right out of the can in one piece. If you are short on
flat space for your buffet area, but need a few cans of cranberry sauce
out, here's a way to save space while still making it easy to dish it out
onto plates. Slice the sauce a can at a time. Then layer the slices in a
spiral into a round or squarish casserole dish. Keep going round and
round until it's all in there! I did this for our home school co-op's
Thanksgiving feast.

 

QUICK CENTERPIECES (AND SCENT-ERPIECES!): An attractive basket of fruit
makes a lovely yet uncomplicated table decoration, and it can be eaten,
too! For a little something special, put a small string of white
Christmas lights in the basket and cover with a cloth napkin so that the
fruit will be illuminated from beneath. (This doesn't work as well on a
table because of the cord, but you could do this at your serving counter
or elsewhere in the house.) Another idea that Mary and I learned at a
table-setting workshop at church: carve a chunk out the tops of apples or
mini pumpkins to use as votive candle holders. You can also buy
inexpensive potpourri burners (electric or candle-heated) at Wal-Mart.
Use these to heat solid potpourri, scented oil, or tarts, which are like
small wickless candles which dissolve into the air. My favorites scents
are fruit, of course!

 

CITRUS-BASED CLEANERS: I sat on gum at a church picnic, and it stuck all
over my "home school uniform" (aka denim jumper). I couldn't get it off
by picking at it, so I squirted some Goo Gone on it and it came right
off. This product, and similar ones such as De-Solv-It, are citrus-based
cleaners that take crayon marks of the wall, price labels off of
products, tar off of shoes, etc.