Oxygen

Dance Class.

Jake’s hand in red.

My hand in blue.

Photo by Lily.

Quote by Tim: “Hey, it’s just like blood but only one of them has oxygen.”

That’s a lot of photos

Check out the flickr widget.  There are some from last year as well.  So many more to come.  Thanks to Lily’s mom, Victoria for hooking me up with a pro account!

See You In September

A Sneak Preview

The Mystery Bay Classroom auction project is almost ready for it’s unveiling.

Our project this year is photography.  Each student and teacher (the teacher photos may not make it into the final piece – they are extra in case they are needed to fill in the frame) took a picture of something they either love at school or find esthetically pleasing.  Then I dusted them off a bit in handy dandy Photoshop.  They are going to be matted and framed as one art piece.

Bid away folks!

But first we have a sneak preview of the photos (without the frame of course – and this may or may not be the order they will be in once they are mounted).

Enjoy:

Click below to see them close up with the photographer’s name attached.

The Mystery Bay Classroom Auction Photo Project

Reality

Photo taken by Anya

Thank You Sophia for the Birthday Flowers

I marveled at their beauty all weekend.

A Week in the Life…

Reading and writing our own comics (especially for those who find writing and journaling grueling.)

Asher found Calvin all too familiar and laughed hysterically for the hour he spent reading all about their adventures:

If you have any (non-violent type) comics, bring them in for our comic table.

A page from Harriette’s comic book:

Lookie, lookie, peas:

Onions and nasturtium:

Dice math problems (a huge hit) :

In pairs, each partner rolls a die and then they add the amount rolled on one die with the amount rolled on the other die and then they write down the math problem they created with each roll.

Fractions:

Puzzle making:

Fini:

“Michelle, I’m TOTALLY into sewing!” ~Asher

Sophia’s lovely 1030’s wool material bag for her mama for mother’s day:

Violet’s pillow:

Asher’s bag for his dad:

All of our beautiful sewing projects:

Cooking with Kathleen:

Cheddar Cheese Crackers (recipe below):

This past week we’ve been reading to each other at circle time as well as reading to other classes and to the seniors at Daystar:

Remaking the wheel:

The tadpoles are gigantic but too fast to photograph:

 

 

CHEDDAR CHEESE CRACKERS

Ingredients

¼ cup Cornmeal

¾ cup All purpose flour

1 Tbsp Poppy seeds

¼ tsp Cayenne pepper or ground black pepper (optional)

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Baking powder
½ stick Butter, cold, cut into small pieces

1 cup Sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

5-6 Tbsp Cold water

Directions

1. In medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, poppy seeds, salt, baking powder and cayenne (if using.)

1. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

1. Add cheese and 4 Tbsp water, stir to blend with fork. Add additional water if needed to bring dough together. (Dough should be soft but not sticky.)

1. Turn out onto floured work surface and knead gently 4-5 times to combine.

1. Form dough into two balls. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out each ball into a 12” circle.

1. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters or biscuit cutters. Gather scraps and reroll as necessary to use up dough.

1. Place shapes onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Prick each cracker a couple of times with a fork.

1. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, rotating racks halfway through, until crackes are a pale golden brown. Immediately remove crackers from pan and cool on wire racks.

1. Once cooled, crackers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. If they get chewy, you can recrisp them in a warm oven.

And Now We Are Twelve

Violet has officially joined the ranks in Mystery Bay.  We’re so happy to have you!  It’s kind of funny the way it works in our little class.  When people join us, especially people we already know, it just seems like they’ve been with us all along.

Playing Catch-Up

I was gone for four days at a funeral and while we were away we adopted a battered Australian Shepherd – so my evenings/blog time has been taken up with catching up from my trip and our new dog, Rosa.

We’ve been making math problems with unifix cubes and writing math sentences on the board.

Asher concentrates:

Jackson said; “This is the only reason I come to school.” – YEAH RIGHT!

We tried using motion and inertia to get a marble to stay in a cup without a bottom:

We made mosaics with our glass from Village Green Nursery:

Harriette painted a portrait of me:

We studied Sea Plant Life:

We’ve been playing hang man build a woman/cat/dog/baby etc – we LOVE this game:

We went ice fishing with ice, water, salt and a string:

We’ve been reading “Ask the Bones” and some have been a bit scared so we broke the group in two but some of us are LOVING IT so much!

We’ve also been reading the “Miss Nelson” books, “Henry and the Underground Railroad,” and “A picture book of Harriet Tubman.”

Me made Oatmeal Soda Bread:

OATMEAL SODA BREAD

                              Yield:  1 loaf
INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups Oats

1 ¾ cups Buttermilk
2 cups  All purpose flour

½ cup  Cake flour

½ cup  Whole wheat flour

¼ cup  Brown sugar

1 ½ tsp  Baking soda

1 ½ tsp  Cream of tartar

1 ½ tsp  Salt

2 Tbsp  Butter, softened
1 Tbsp  Butter, melted (for the crust)

DIRECTIONS

1. Put 2 cups of oats in a bowl.  Add buttermilk and mix well.  Allow to soak for one hour before proceeding.
2. Preheat oven to 400.
3. Whisk flours, the remaining ½ cup oats, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt together in a large bowl. 
4. Cut in the softened butter with a fork or your fingertips until the mixture resembles course crumbs.
5. Add the soaked oats and stir with a fork until the dough comes together. 
6. Turn dough out onto flour-coated work surface.  Knead for about 12 turns, just until dough is cohesive.  (Do not overwork the dough – it shouldn’t be smooth.)
7. Pat the dough into a 6 inch round.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Using a sharp knife, score the top of the loaf in an “X” shape, about ¾ inch deep.
9. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes. 
10. Immediately upon removing the loaf from the oven, brush the top with the melted butter.
11. Cool to room temperature before slicing (about 45 minutes.)

Sewing and Sowing – Using Our Hands to Make and Grow

Neve works on a scarf with pom-poms:

James makes a bag:

Isabel makes a pocket purse:

Harriette makes her signature cat face drawing into a stuffed cat:

Brigit continues sewing the scarf she started this past autumn and finishes her sewing bag:

The crocus continue to bloom – spring is coming:

We pulled weeds, loosened the dirt and planted peas and nasturtium:

(photo by Isabel):

We found larva, caterpillars, worms, beetle’s (photo by Isabel):

…and spiders:

and NEW dump trucks: