Month: January 2022

Music Appreciation – Jazz

Dear Sis, 

This is the sixth of ten parts in our Music Appreciation lesson plan series. If you are just finding us now, the text that corresponds with these lessons is Music is… by Stephen T. Johnson. 

Jazz Music

Week Twenty

Approximately 15 minutes

Read playful narration “Jazz is…” text.

  • Encourage your pre-reader to try to repeat the song and sing along. Being silly with your kids is a great way to catch their interest.
  • If you have multiple learners you can make a game of it and see who can give the best performance by family vote

Watch The History of Jazz video.

Listen to Sample One: “Livery Stable Blues” by Dixieland Jazz Band (Dixieland jazz)

Listen to Sample Two: “Jeepers Creepers” by Louis Armstrong (big band)




Week Twenty-One

Approximately 20 minutes

Read “Jazz” history text.

Listen to Sample Three: “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” by Ella Fitzgerald (swing)

Watch The Use of Instruments in Jazz.

Week Twenty-Two

Approximately 20 minutes

Watch The History of Bebop Jazz. 

Listen to Sample Four: “Salt Peanuts” by The Quintet: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach (bebop)

Week Twenty-Three

Approximately 20 minutes

Listen to Sample Five: “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (cool jazz)

Listen to Sample Six: “So What” by Miles Davis (modal jazz)




Please tell us about your experience in the comment section. Stay tuned for the seventh installment: Latin (Weeks 23-26).

Happy Homeschooling!

Love,

b

Instant Pot Freezer Meals – Beef Vegetable Soup

Dear Sis,

These freezer meals have been so handy! We normally have to wrap up homeschool by three in the afternoon to start dinner, but we can school all the way to 4:30 PM with these instant pot freezer meals, which is inevitable on days we don’t begin until well after lunch:)

Beef Vegetable Soup

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Instant Pot Freezer Meal, Beef Vegetable Soup
Print Recipe
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

Preparation Ingredients

  • 1 lb stew beef 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 lg potato chopped and blanched
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 3 carrots peeled and sliced
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • 1 c tomato sauce
  • 1 c frozen green beans
  • 1 c frozen peas
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 1-gal freezer bag
  • 1 1-qt freezer bag

Serving Day Ingredients

  • 3 c beef stock

Instructions
 

Preparation Insturctions

  • Date, label, and copy serving day instructions onto one of the 1 gallon bag.
  • Place frozen vegetables in qt freezer bag, seal. Place remaining ingredients into labeled gallon bag, press out air and seal. Place both bags into another gallon freezer bag. Freeze for later use.

Serving Day Instructions

  • Add gallon bag and stock to instant pot. Pressure cook 10 minutes., natural release.
  • Stir in frozen vegetables. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches.
Keyword instant pot, freezer meal, beef vegetable soup

Back to the Instant Pot Freezer Meal Directory

Dinner is served!

Love,

b

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Instant Pot Freezer Meal – Orange Chicken

Dear Sis,

Another good instant pot freezer meal. I really appreciate how little work I need to do on serving day! 

Orange Chicken

b
Instant Pot Freezer Meal Orange Chicken
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

Preparation Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lb chicken thighs cubed
  • 1/2 c orange marmalade
  • 1/4 c hoisin sauce
  • 2 T low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 T ginger paste
  • 1 T rice vinegar
  • 1 1-gal freezer bag

Serving Day Ingredients

  • 1 c chicken stock
  • 2 T cornstarch dissolved in 3 T cold water
  • 2 green onions chopped, (optional)
  • sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions
 

Preparation Instructions

  • Date, label, and copy serving day instructions onto a 1 gallon freezer bag.
  • Combine all ingredients in prepared bag. Press out air and seal. Freeze for later use.

Serving Day Instructions

  • Add bag contents and chicken stock to instant pot. Pressure cook 8 minutes, natural release 10 minutes, quick release remaining pressure.
  • Using saute function, stir in dissolved cornstarch and boil until sauce thickens. Serve over rice. Garnish with green onion and sesame seeds if desired. Serve with a side of green beans.
Keyword instant pot, freezer meal, orange chicken

Back to Instant Pot Freezer Meal Directory

Dinner is served!

Love,

b

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Evelyn’s Rag Doll

Hi, 

A family friend gave Evelyn a rag doll kit for Christmas. Yesterday, while Grant took his nap we went to the sewing room together and made her doll. Eve is only three, but she handed me pins, tossed the scraps, sat on my lap while we used the sewing machine, and helped pass the stuffing and fill the doll. 

While, it was an easy thing to make, it was tiny and kind of difficult to manipulate. But, I finished it last night and she seems pleased with the result.

Look forward to seeing how your rag doll for Charlotte turns out!

Jamie

Music Appreciation – Hip Hop

Dear Sis, 

This is the fifth of ten parts in our Music Appreciation lesson plan series. If you are just finding us now, the text that corresponds with these lessons is Music is… by Stephen T. Johnson. 

Hip Hop Music

A note for parents: Much of the hip hop world is not fit for our most precious learners, but I hope this serves as a family friendly sampling.

Week Eighteen

Approximately 20 minutes

Read playful narration “Hip Hop is…” text.

  • Encourage your pre-reader to try to repeat the song and sing along. Being silly with your kids is a great way to catch their interest.
  • If you have multiple learners you can make a game of it and see who can give the best performance by family vote.

Listen to Sample One: “Super Rappin’ No. 2” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Listen to Sample Two: “The Home of Hip Hop” by Grandmixer D.ST.

Listen to Sample Three: “Me, Myself, and I” by De La Soul

Week Nineteen

Approximately 20 minutes

Read “HIP HOP” history text.

Watch “The Birth of Hip Hop” video.

Listen to Sample Four: “I Missed the Bus” by Kris Kross

Listen to Sample Five: “Don’t Sweat the Technique” by Eric B. & Rakin

Listen to Sample Six: “ABC’s” by Sugarhill Gang




Please tell us about your experience in the comment section. Stay tuned for the sixth installment: Jazz (Weeks 20-22).

Happy Homeschooling!

Love,

b

Instant Pot Freezer Meal – Beef and Broccoli

Dear Sis, 

This is the first recipe in our Instant Pot freezer meal series. I did have to make a few changes. I added 2 T brown sugar to balance the flavor so it wouldn’t be too bitter for my little people. I wish I would have added the broccoli after reducing and thickening the sauce. Ours was too thin, but I couldn’t reduce it more without overcooking the broccoli. Without further ado, the recipe:

Beef and Broccoli

b
A freezer meal for the Instant Pot.
3.50 from 2 votes
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Prep Ingredients

  • 2 1 - gallon freezer bag
  • 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, thinly sliced
  • 1 lb broccoli florets, frozen
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 T dark broan sugar, packed
  • 2 T hoisin sauce
  • 2 T low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 T minced garlic
  • 1 T cooking sherry
  • 1 T ginger paste
  • salt and pepper to taste

Serving Day Ingredients

  • 2 c rice
  • 1 c vegetable stock
  • 2 T cornstarch
  • 1 t sesame oil

Instructions
 

Prep Instructions

  • Lable gallon bag with date, recipe, and preparation instructions for cooking day.
  • Set frozen broccoli florets aside. Combine all other ingredients in gallon bag, press out air, and seal.
  • Place broccoli and prepared meat mixture into second gallon bag, press out air, seal, and freeze for later use.

Serving Day Instructions

  • Prepare rice in your usual way. We use a rice cooker.
  • Add stock and frozen meat mixture to pressure cooker. Pressure cook 10 minutes. Natural release 10 minutes. Then, release remaining pressure before opening.
  • Stir cornstarch into 3 T cold water until dissolved. Pour into cooked meat mixture. Using saute function. reduce and thicken sauce to desired consistency.
  • Add frozen broccoli, cooking until heated through. Serve over rice.




Dinner is served!

Love,

b

Back to the Instant Pot Freezer Meal Directory

Modifying Microfiber AlOs to Hemp AIO – Cloth Diapering

If you are anything like me, you may not like your cloth diapers to have microfiber. The reason being, they are fluffy, they compress and oftentimes leak with heavier wetters. Microfiber is also difficult to keep clean, as microfiber tends to hold onto ammonia. Even with a very good washing routine, sometimes it is near to impossible to keep microfiber smelling clean.

Because of this, I often replace a microfiber all in one with natural fibers. My favorite fabric of choice is hemp fleece 370 gsm from Nature’s Fabric. I pick hemp fleece for these reasons

  • hemp is very trim, and has very little compression.
  • hemp fleece is softer then knit jersey.
  • fleece like fabric does produce more of a stay dry feel
  • hemp fleece doesn’t get the holes that a hemp knit jersey insert will get. I find hemp jersey will even get holes where a dull sewing needle goes through it. And even if you get an interlock jersey that will not continue to fray, a thicker fleece will last much longer.

My instructions kind of assume you have a serger, but I realize that isn’t a reality  for everyone. If you don’t, you can opt to buy already made inserts.  I would stick to trimmer options for easier washing. Keep in mind the insert size when purchasing, measure your diaper to make sure it will fit in nicely.

For this project, I had did some recycling. I some hempkicks prefolds laying around, which are made out of hemp fleece. I used two layers for each insert.

Before you start to sew, I would decide on what kind of flap style you want your aio’s to have. There are three main options. One directional, two directional, and snake. I personally, prefer one directional or snake. Cleaning a poop with inserts that flip in opposite directions isn’t for me. lol.

Both of these are Thirsties Microfiber AIO.

Step 1: Remove the old insert with a seam ripper. 

Step 2: Use the old insert as a pattern for you new ones. Even if making a snake, just make it twice as long as the old one, and the same width. Serge around the insert.

Step 3: If using two inserts, and putting them on the same side…sew them together first. Then attach to the diaper wrong side to wrong side. Sew

All done, just trim the ends of the threads, and finish like a normal sewing project.

Happy Cloth Diapering,

Jamie

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1860’s Knitted Winter Accessories

Hi Sis,

I completed my knitted accessories today, that go with my 1860’s winter wear. I made a scarf, to take a chill of my neck…as I may have made my neckline on my coat a little short. A hood, to cover my ears as the wind blew under my quilted hood last venture. And some super warm mittens/gloves.

Scarf Pattern 

My scarf is a combination two similar period patterns. The Princess Royal Scarf, which was featured in Godey’s Magazine, in 1856. And a Childs Muff pattern that was featured in Godey’s Magazine, in 1860.

Both original patterns call for 130 stitches, and are striped in two colors. The Princess Royal calls for each color band to be 6 rows wide, and the other 8 rows wide. One asks for every fifth stitch to be dropped, and the other every 4th. The have different numbers of stripes, but it is almost the same pattern republished.

I found the 130 stitches to be very small, child sized makes sense! I adjusted the pattern for myself. It’s not a super long scarf, but I can tie it once.

Materials
Sport Weight Yarn in two colors
Size 5 knitting needles

Pattern

Cast on 200 stitches (Or, more if you want it longer! This, is a stitch repetition of 5. Food for thought. Historically they didn’t have circular needles!  Naturally, they did have options for making projects with width greater then the average needle size. However, for a simple project like a scarf. You generally see a smaller width knit as long as one likes)

Do eight rows of stockinette stitch. Change color, knit eight rows. If you like the look, or what a fluffier scarf you can reverse the stockinette. Knit till you have four repeats of each color. 

Drop the fifth stitch, and tear all the way down to the bottom.

Cast off. I cast off one extra stitch right where the dropped stitch was, to add extra stretch there.

Sew up the side, and bottoms. Make pom poms or tassels and attach.

Richmond Gloves

These neat gloves where featured in Piecework Magazine. The pattern was developed by an Englishwoman in the 1860’s, but no exact date is given. You can purchase the pattern here for $6.50.

 

Godey’s Opera Hood 1862

What Materials I used
Sport Weight Yarn in two colors
Size 5 Knitting Needles
Tie

Pattern

Cast on 90 stitches.

Do 5 rows of stockinette stitch in one color. Reverse the stockinette stitch and do five rows in the alternate color.

I changed on thing. I followed the picture instead of the instructions. The pattern calls for 9 rows of one color and eight of the other. While, the picture shows 10

rows of one, and 9 of the other. I followed the picture, and I like it!

Cast off.

It is a pretty stretchy thing, but blocking it may make the colors stand out more. I didn’t block mine, but might do that. To tie, I opted for  a functional wool cord made from a lucet loom.

Raverly link for this pattern 

Happy Knitting,

Jamie

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