Umm… baking day! This is quickly becoming our favorite day around here. It is laid back and quiet. Everyone has some time to do their own thing in the morning (I can actually get some laundry done) with me calling the troops into the kitchen every so often to help. Yummy smells and yummy treats.
To go along with our Week Two activities we made our own butter. Of course we started by getting a loaf of bread going in the bread machine (ohhh do we love our bread machine). Then it was an epic battle of man vs machine. We poured a little bit of heavy whipping cream into a mason jar, the rest went into the mixer bowl with a bit of salt. And they were off. Guess who won? The boy! I was actually amazed at how he never tired of shaking that jar (just shows the boundless energy of a 5 year old boy).
For those of you who try this, you know you have butter when the cream transforms first to thick whipping cream (forms peaks) and then to what I can best describe as scrambled eggs in milk. It will totally pull away from the sides forming solid clumps in the middle, in a pool of buttermilk.
After I strained the butter I couldn’t bring myself to just throw away the buttermilk so instead I googled ‘Buttermilk Recipes.” I found one for ButterMilk Sugar Cookies that I highly recommend. We didn’t make the glaze but the cookies were very yummy with a more cake like texture.
Our craft project for Week Two was making our own Barn Yard Stuffed Animals. LOL – I’m not sure they really count as barnyard animals, although Bug assured me his knight was riding a horse so that makes it ok.
We used permanent craft markets on white muslin. I used painter’s tape on the edge so the kids knew they couldn’t go all the way to edge. Once their picture was done, I used a hot iron to help set the colors and then I cut the images out along leaving about a 1″ border. I cut out a matching blank piece for the back (you can cut both pieces at the same time). I sewed the two pieces right sides together leaving about a 2″ gap. We flipped them right side out and stuffed them. I then hand sewed up the open gap.
Week Two (Sep 8th-12th)
Beatrice’s Goat
Milk: From Cow to Carton
B is for Bugle
We will be coloring the Bugle page from our Flower Fairies Alphabet Coloring Book and reading the accompanying story in the Flower Fairies Alphabet Book.
(click here to see how ours turned out)
Have kids draw a farm animal on fabric with fabric markers or paints. Cut out basic shape of the animal, leaving about an inch of extra fabric around the outline. Cut out a second piece of fabric to match. Sew right sides together leaving a 1-2″ gap. Turn right side out, stuff and sew up the gap. You child now has a self made stuffy.
(Click here for a site with How to Make Butter directions.
I have two different ideas that I’m going to try and do with the kids. I hope we get to do at least one of the activities. First is to go to one of our local petting farms during ‘milking time’ for the kids to see a cow being milked. We have seen this before but it is always fun. The other is to visit one of our historical communities in the area and see butter being churned. We just visited one last weekend and got to see glass being blown… Bug was fascinated.
No, not I. For if I do he’s sure to cry.
Little Boy Blue
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn;
The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.
Where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He’s under a haystack, fast asleep.
Will you wake him?