Moments in our days...

Fifth grade form drawing and Greek pottery...

A busy toddler...

Healthy snacks...

Welcoming spring...
hope you are enjoying your days!

Caribbean Block

This is the final week of Sean's study of the Caribbean countries. As part of our geography studies, we always include the music and foods of the region we are studying. Sean enjoys cooking, so he prepared a Caribbean meal, beverage, and dessert for us.

He chose the menu selections himself, created the shopping list, and did the shopping and all the cooking himself. All recipes are from Food.com. Oh, and he told me he is aware these recipes are "Americanized".

The menu consisted of:
Caribbean Jerk Chicken Wings

2 cups barbecue sauce
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 6-ounce can crushed pineapples
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
jerk seasoning, to taste
18 chicken wings
Prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients except wings and jerk seasoning. Heat in saucepan over medium heat.
Rub jerk seasoning into the chicken wings. Grill for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through
Brush generously with sauce and enjoy!

Beverage - 
2 ounces pineapple juice
4 ounces orange juice
2 ounces cream of coconut
nutmeg
2 ounces dark rum (for adults!)

Pineapple Pie from Barbados
1 14 1/2-ounce can pineapple chunks
unflavored gelatin
8-ounces cream cheese
graham cracker crust

Not bad for an eleven-year old! Um, have I mentioned how much I love homeshooling?!

Poetry Block

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost

I first read Robert Frost in high school, and this has always been a favorite of mine. How true this poem has been for my life. And I am ever so grateful for the paths I have taken. Ah, but before I get all philosophical, let me get to the point of this post - POETRY!

I am making Tuesdays our poetry day. Fifth grader Sean and first grader Sita will experience a new poem each week, hopefully with an illustration such as the one I created last week.

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt - he falls.

The Eagle, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

This poem was perfect for introducing metaphor and simile. I created my own version of the poem without the metaphor and simile in order to contrast the language and imagery created with the metaphor and simile. I saw that "look" in Sean's eyes as he understood the importance of creative language. For the rest of the day, I attempted to use as much metaphor and simile as I could muster, and would then follow it with the exclamation of "SIMILE!" or "METAPHOR!" each time. I thought I was pretty funny, but of course my eleven-year-old only rolled his eyes.

For our resources we will be using Donna Simmons' Living Language, Joseph Bruchac's The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet, Native American Poems of the Land, and The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems.

Looking forward to more poetry.