Home Economics

Today was a "non-school day".  No books, worksheets, flashcards or facts to recite.  We spent the day living and learning.   Thankfully, the girls are young enough that they think washing the dishes and mopping the floor is a fun and exciting activity.  Seriously, who am I to burst their little bubbles?  So I cheer them on in their enthusiastic attempts to help.

We spent last evening and early this morning working in the gardens.  We spent LOTS of time weeding, working the soil and playing in the water watering the garden by hand.    I must admit, it was a BIT alarming to hear Lindsey ask "what do weeds look like?" after about 10 minutes of her working alone.  Thankfully, there doesn't appear to be a great deal of damage.    We have already harvested two bunches of lettuce.  The tomatoes, squash, eggplant and cucumbers all have blooms on them.  It looks like we'll be overflowing in vegetables soon.

Our marigolds are brilliant shades of yellow and orange, and are doing a great job of keeping bugs off the tomoatoes.

After lunch, the girls argued over who got to wash the dishes.  I assured them that this is an ongoing task and I am sure everyone will have many opportunities again.  Poor dears, little do they know that I'm trying to work myself out of a job by teaching them to take over. 

We also worked on some math, disguised as a recipe for homemade play-doh.  I used a recipe that Jolanthe at No Ordinary Moments posted last week.  It is super simple and relatively inexpensive. 

What you'll need is:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 Tbsp cream of tartar
1 envelope unsweetened Koolaid
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.   Stir in oil.  Continue to stir until the dough forms a ball in the middle of your pan.  Remove from heat, place where little hands (and husbands) can't reach until cooled.    Knead until soft then play play play.   Store in an air tight container until the next play time.

The girls started making bird nests with eggs, which evolved into eggs in a basket.  So I asked if anyone could tell me a story from the Bible that involved baskets.  Of course, their first response was Baby Moses in the basket...so they quickly turned to making a baby in a basket. 

So, for a "non school day", I'd say we learned some important things together!