Carnival of Homeschooling #196

This edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling is being hosted at Heart of the Matter. Perhaps the venue got everyone excited, as there are dozens of posts in this edition! Check it out here.

Don't despise the small things

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks because I haven't had much to post about. It isn't all hands on fun around here. Far from it! The last two weeks have been all about the same 'ol stuff.

Reading. Writing. Arithmetic. More Reading.

The children sometimes find this work tedious, and wonder why we have to do it. But this is the foundation that will enable them to achieve their goals later on. And it is good for them to learn to persevere cheerfully with work that must be done, even though it isn't always enjoyable.

Some weeks it feels like we're just spinning our wheels. Will we ever get off of this plateau and reach new heights? I have to remind myself that we've been in this situation before, and we did see progress. But rarely was it by leaps and bounds. Usually it was the result of faithfulness in the little things, over time.

When I get discouraged, I remember other times in our homeschooling career when I despaired of ever making progress. I think of all the days spent teaching phonics to a child I was convinced would never learn to read, or the years spent coaxing a fearful child to learn to ride a bike. Often I felt discouraged, yet in both cases--and in many others--I eventually saw the fruit of my labors.

That's why we keep on doing the same 'ol, same 'ol. Reading. Writing. Arithmetic. More Reading.

"The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel." Zechariah 4: 9-10

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Viking Feast

Beef stew, rye bread with butter, non-alcoholic mead, and soft cheese.


No feast has been more highly anticipated in our home than the Viking Feast. My husband can trace his Norwegian heritage all the way back to Harald Hardrade, the Norwegian King who was killed in 1066 in the Battle of Stamford Bridge....and beyond. My sons take great pride in their Viking blood.

My mother-in-law makes a pilgrimage to Wisconsin every year to eat Lutefisk. In olden-times, Norwegians ate a fish that was so hard and bony, they had to use Lye to soften it. I'm not sure how they make it now, but everyone says it is an acquired taste (i.e. it tastes horrible). Needless to say, we didn't have that on the menu.

We do eat Lefse every Christmas, which is a tortilla-like Norwegian flat bread spread with butter and brown sugar. I didn't have that on hand for this feast, and I doubt it was around in Viking times anyway.

We did not have costumes for this feast, either. Sorry! The white sheets used in our Egyptian Feast, Greek Feast and Roman Feast could not be adapted for the purpose, and we didn't have time to pull anything else together.


My Vikings enjoyed this feast. We used or Hnefetafl Board as a centerpiece.


Want to know what we did have? Keep reading for the menu and recipes. I relied heavily on The Viking Answer Lady and on a PDF file from Tjurslakter titled Viking and Anglo-Saxon Recipes for my information about what people ate during Viking Times, as well as for some of these recipes.

We learned that Vikings typically only ate twice a day, morning and evening, and their fare was simple.


The Menu:
non-alcoholic, homemade Mead
Rye bread with salted butter
soft cheese
Stewed beef
Norwegian pancake with berry sauce
Stewed fruits with yogurt

The children wanted to taste Mead, so I searched the internet for a non-alcoholic version. I found a few. Here's the recipe I used, taken from the Group Recipes site:

Soft Mead
4 cups water
1 cup honey
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 lemon

The instructions said to boil this but I was in a rush, so I did it in the microwave. It turned out fine. I put the water, honey and spices into a dish and heated it until it boiled. Stir in the honey until it dissolves, and squeeze the lemon into it. The instructions I found said you can also use orange slices, and that the drink should be cooled and strained. We did not strain it, and we drank it warm. It was yummy!

Easier Mead alternatives

Another recipe that sounds even simpler called for 2 parts apple juice, 4 parts honey and 6 parts water. Mix in a pan, bring to a boil and let simmer for half an hour, then cool and strain.

Research indicated that the Vikings also drank herbal concoctions. Chamomile or Rose hip tea might be a good choice.

Stewed Beef

For the stewed beef, I simply put chunks of stew meat into my crock pot, along with some root vegetables and onions. My kids like carrots, but turnips or parsnips would also do. I added a bit of water and a couple packages of stew flavoring, and set it on low for several hours.



Viking fun without the fuss!

I know it would have been more authentic in a giant kettle over the fire, but I try to keep most of our "feasts" something that is reasonably done on a regular school night, in the same time I might normally spend making dinner. The main point to keep in mind about Viking stew is that they did not have potatoes or tomatoes, so your stew shouldn't have them either!

We purchased the rye bread and cheese. We used Brie, as our whole family loves it. We learned during our studies that the Vikings conquered quite a bit of territory, including part of France, so we felt fine about our choice.

I had told my husband to get Brie at the store, but the children wanted to buy Jarlsberg, which is a Norwegian cheese. Hubby bought the Brie anyway, certain that he should get "whatever mom wants"!

When they got home and told me about their shopping trip, I knew that the kids were right. To be more authentic, we should have had Jarlsberg. Those boys certainly do know their cheeses!


Dessert: Norwegian Pancake with Berries, and Summer Fruit, Honey and Hazelnut crumble with yogurt

Pancake with Berries (this recipe came from The Viking Answer Lady and is for four servings).

2/3 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup lingonberries (we used raspberries)

Turn the oven to 425F. Whisk the batter together without the butter and stir in the berries. Melt the butter in a heat resistant baking pan or oven proof skillet, and pour in the batter. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pancake has a nice color. Cut into pieces and serve with jam.

I doubled this recipe, and there was a lot left over. It took 45 minutes for the larger pancake to set. I didn't think the kids would like it, as you could clearly taste the whole wheat flour, and there was no sugar in the recipe. I melted the jam in the microwave so it would pour onto the pancake like syrup. The kids loved it, though. So did my husband! Everyone wanted the leftovers the next day, and asked if I would make it again in the future.



Vikings in Anglo-Saxon Britain: Summer Fruit, Honey and Hazelnut Crumble Recipe from Viking and Anglo-Saxon recipes.

2 pounds mixed soft summer fruits (raspberries, lingonberries, strawberries, currants, cherries or similar)
honey or brown sugar (to taste)
3 oz. toasted hazelnuts
3 oz. whole wheat brown breadcrumbs

Put the fruits in a pan or in a microwave dish with about 1" watr in the bottom. Cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes (microwave for 4 to 6 minutes on high), or until the fruits are soft without being totally mushy. Sweeten to taste with the honey or brown sugar.

Drain off the extra juice and save it to serve with the pudding. Chop the hazelnuts in a food processor, then mix them with the breadcrumbs. Pour the fruit into an over-safe dish and cover it with a thick layer of the nut mixture. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Serve with cream or plain yogurt and the warmed fruit juices.

We enjoyed this. I serve plain yogurt very often, flavored with a bit of brown sugar or honey and some fresh fruit, so this was not too unusual for us. I liked the way it tasted with the warm fruit. The kids enjoy it more without the nuts and crumbs.

Viking Hnefetafl

One of our favorite activities while studying the Vikings was playing the game of Hnefetafl (pronounced Nef-uh-tah-full). Hnefetafl is a strategy game like chess, though much simpler to play. It simulates a Viking raid, with attackers trying to capture the King and defenders trying to protect him.

We made the game board years ago, using instructions from a previous curriculum. I tried in vain to find a board online that you could print...so I'm including instructions in this post about making your own. Don't worry, it won't be difficult!

Online Hnefetafl:

I've found a site where you can play online. Click on one of the game boards to play. This site is great, as it allows you to play against the computer, as either the attacker (black) or the defender (white), and it also allows you to do a two player game and play both sides. You can choose from an 11 x 11 board or a 9 x 9 board. Click on one of the boards to begin playing. Make sure that you click the word "English", which you'll see beside the board on the next screen, if you want the computer to prompt you in English instead of the default Danish!

They have the rules printed on their site, or you can read the rules I've written below.




Make your own Hnefetafl Board

It's worth it to take 15 minutes to make your own board, because Hnefetafl is just that fun! My kids have gone back to it again and again. Games are over quickly and it's a little bit addictive!

If you are great on the computer, you can design your own game board that way....otherwise, you'll have to do it the old fashioned way.

You'll need a square piece of posterboard, a ruler and some markers. The board is laid out similar to a checker or chess board, but with 121 squares (11 rows and 11 columns). Smaller and larger versions have been found in ruins, but 11 x 11 seems to be the most common. Use your ruler to mark off equal sized squares, 11 rows and 11 columns.

You'll need 3 different colored markers to designate where the attackers, the defenders and the King call home.

Each of the four corners and the very center square should be colored the same (with a matching color or pattern, we'll say blue for our purposes). These squares belong to the King. The center square is his throne and the 4 corner squares are his exit points to escape from the attackers.

Every square touching the center square, as well as the squares that are two squares away from the center in a straight line, should be colored identically (we'll say yellow). That gives you 5 blue squares (the corners and the middle) and 12 yellow squares (a kind of compass, surrounding the middle blue square).



The final pattern and color is for the sides.

As you look at the perimeter of the board, you'll see the 4 blue squares in the 4 corners. Each blue corner should have two empty (uncolored) squares beside it in each direction. The middle squares along the perimeter will be colored identically, let's say in green. There are 5 middle squares on each side, plus four empty squares and two blue corners per side, for a total of 11 squares per side.



Finally, the square that touches the middle square on each side will also be green.

Do the same on all four sides. When you are done it will look like this!




The Rules


The rules are fairly simple. You'll need 3 different colors of glass beads (or some other marker) to represent the players (24 beads in one color for the attackers, 12 beads in another color for defenders, as well as one glass bead in a third color for the King). You can substitute something else for the markers (24 pennies, 12 dimes and one nickel).

The King sits on his throne, which is the center blue square, and he is surrounded by his men on the yellow squares (the 12 defenders). The rest of the beads are the attackers, and they are set up around the board on the green squares.


It is hard to differentiate the King from the defenders in this picture, but you get the idea. The light blue beads are attackers, the green beads are defenders and the center, turquoise bead on the throne is the King. Also, we colored this board a bit differently than our instructions, but just disregard these differences.



Objective:

The four sides represent four ships. The middle represents the King on his throne, surrounded by his loyal defenders. The defenders try to help the King escape by enabling him to get to one of the four corners. The attackers win if they can capture the King before he reaches one of the corners and escapes. Typically the attackers have the upper hand, so good manners dictate playing twice and switching sides so that each person has a chance to play both roles. If you want to keep score, count how many of the opponent's pieces are captured in both games, and add up the total to determine the final winner.

Here are the rules:

1) Pieces can move as far as they want to in a single turn, but only in a straight line right to left or up and down. No diagonal moves are allowed. Think of how the Rook moves in chess; Hnefetafl pieces move the same way.

2) The throne and the four corners may only be occupied by the King. Another piece can pass through the throne if the King is not sitting on it, but no piece may land on the throne or corners except the King.

3) The attackers are allowed to move first. Turns alternate between the two players. Pieces are not allowed to jump over each other.

4) Pieces are captured in one of two ways: either they are trapped between two enemy pieces, or between an enemy piece and one of the King's squares (the center square or the corner squares). The two enemy pieces must be directly beside the captured piece (left to right or top to bottom), not diagonal.



Also, the trap must be closed by the move of the opponent. In other words, if a defender sneaks in between two attackers which are already in position, the defender is not captured. Captured pieces are removed from game play for the rest of the game.

Since corner squares can be used to help capture an opponent's piece in an attack, it isn't wise to stay adjacent to one.



5) The King can be captured just like any other piece unless he is sitting on his throne or on one of the four squares directly adjacent to his throne. If he is on this throne, the attackers have to surround him in all four cardinal directions.



If he is on any of the four squares directly adjacent to his throne, the attackers have to surround him on the four points of the compass.



6) If the King is in danger of being captured on the next move, the attacker must say, "Watch your King".



That's it! The King is wise to sacrifice a few of his defenders in the early rounds, as often they end up getting in his way as he tries to escape. The attackers do well to set up a blockade around all four corners, but this requires fast action from the outset of the game.

Cookie Dough Maps, Take Two

Can you find the marshmallow glacier in this picture?


Ever since we started school a few weeks ago the kids have been asking about when we'll make Cookie Dough Maps. I tried this last year when we studied ancient Egypt, as an alternative to the "Let's-keep-it-forever-mom!" salt dough maps. Little did I know I was starting a tradition.

A tradition that is not, let's be honest, for the health-conscious mom.



Oh, well, I'd like to be remembered as "cool mom" instead. This project qualifies!

In order to get a platform large enough to do anything, I had to make what was supposed to be 48 cookies. Each child got almost 1/4 of the recipe (with a little bit cut off the sides for mom and dad!). This was math they enjoyed doing....how many cookies will you get if you eat 1/4 of 48? Suffice it to say, they weren't allowed to eat it all in one sitting!

Last year we tried making a country-specific map of Egypt. This year we've been reviewing geography terms, so I told them that their map could be whatever they wanted it to be (a real place or make-believe) but that it had to show several geographical features, such as rivers, oceans, mountains, etc. My 9 year old enjoyed making several "knobs" out of mini marshmallows (a knob is bigger than a knoll, by the way, but smaller than a hill, which is smaller than a mountain...)



To keep it simple, I purchased ready-made chocolate chip cookie dough at the store (2 packages) and pressed it out into a large square baking dish. When the cookie bars were finished, I cut out large squares and carefully gave one to each child on a plate. They were also given bowls of colored frosting (yellow for sand, blue for water, green for grass) and a couple of squirt bottles of frosting.



We used M&M's, mini marshmallows, and chocolate chips for land features. One child used frosting to stack marshmallows into a large mountain, while another heaped up candy underneath blue frosting to simulate water running down both sides of a mountain.

These maps may not look too realistic, but they served their purpose. We tossed around a lot of geographical terms, and the kids were motivated to incorporate as many geographical elements as possible into their maps, if only to get more candy on there. A mere island wouldn't do when an archipelago requires so much more candy!

This project is a bit like a three-year-old's drawing: you probably won't be able to tell what anything represents, but the child will know it exactly! My children were required to point out every geographical feature on their map, by name, to prove that they weren't just putting candy onto cookies. Is this how cartographers get started?



7 year old's comment: "This is 3,000 calories worth of map".

Electronic Field trips at Colonial Williamsburg

My friend Laurie had an excellent experience with the Electronic Field Trips at Colonial Williamsburg last year. You can read more about what's slated for this year, as well as posts about all the electronic field trips she attended last year at her blog Teacups in the Garden.

I was excited that the Homeschool Buyers co op was offering discounted rates to these again for 2009/2010, as we'll be studying Colonial America and the Revolutionary War later this year.

If you are studying these topics this year, and if your child is a visual or auditory learner, you might want to take advantage of this! This package usually costs about $500 but through HSBC you can get it for just $49!

Click here for more information about signing up.