Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Three Arches Historic Home

On Saturday, we visited an amazing gem of a historic landmark.  Good friends had mentioned that they had read about a 300th birthday celebration and festivities for a historic home and asked if we would like to join them.  We are SO glad that we did!

The land grant for the property (originally 300 acres, sadly now only 2) dates back to 1684.  John and Mary Sotcher, William Penn's steward and housekeeper at Pennsbury Manor (he even signed their marriage license!) built a one and one-half story stone structure in 1712.  There was additional construction dating 1745, 1750 and 1828 respectively.



This beautiful historic landmark is listed in the County, State and National Historic Registers.

There were Native American and Colonial reenactors as well as entertainment (magic/juggling and puppet shows) for the children.  A large tent was erected on the property where visitors could make colonial crafts and games, witness soap making and even have their faces painted and get a balloon sculpture.  Each visitor received a goody-bag with tokens to remember the day and the property.








We were allowed to roam the entire first floor of the home.  There were delicious pastries and cider for all, as well as guides to answer any questions.  We were shown the original one room where the Sotchers and their 7 children all lived.  Wow, and to think that many children today think their large suburban homes are too small for their needs, lol!





I have lived here all of my life and this was the first time that I had even heard of Three Arches, a true 18th century masterpiece.  There are many treasures in our backyards!






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Monday, October 21, 2013

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- October 22

It is Tuesday (almost!) and time for our little recipe sharing party!  :-)  My family and I enjoy seeing (and trying) all of your delicious recipes.



This week I am sharing my Crockpot (or oven) Cheesy Spinach.  You can see it below linked in the first spot.  It is easy to make and quite good.  :-)

Here are today's features:






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Crockpot (or oven) Cheesy Spinach

This is definitely one of those delicious recipes that are just too easy to make.  It is really quite good.  It is my go-to side dish when expecting company or just when I want to add a little something special to a meal.  And depending on how much menu planning you do in your house, it can be planned ahead of time (made in a crockpot) or thrown together at the last minute into the oven.  :-)

2 10 oz. boxes frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup cold butter, cut in pieces
6 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Grease crockpot (or pan for oven)
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and pour into the crockpot or pan.


Cover and cook.

For crockpot- cook one hour on high and low for 4-5 hours
For oven- cook approximately 75 mins at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!  We sure do!  :-)



Linking up with the Gathering SpotKids in the Kitchen, Tasty TuesdayTempt my Tummy TuesdayDomestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows,Addicted to RecipesHomemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday,NOBH, Judy H-J's ThoughtsWisdom Wednesday , Favorite ThingsModest MomFull Plate Thursday and Melt in your Mouth Monday and Show Off Friday and Tuesday's Table and Look What We Did and Titus 2sday Mom's Monday MingleMonday MingleCrafty SpicesBetter Mom,Create with JoyThursday's TreasuresTasty Thursdays and Wonderful Food Wednesday and Mondays with Countrified Hicks and Tuesday How to Party and the Tried and True Recipe Party and Kids and Mom in the Kitchen and Family Fun Friday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop andAll My Bloggy Friends and Hearts for Home Blog Hop and Foodie Friends Friday and Family Fun Friday and TGIF Linky Party and Food on Friday andHip Homeschool MomsA Wise Woman Builds Her Home andGood Tastes Tuesday and Thriving Thursday

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Sunday, October 20, 2013

TOS Review- Top Story Magazine

Today I am reviewing Top Story Magazine (middle school) from God's World News.


"Critical thinking delivered."

This is precisely what this magazine gives to its readers at their own level!


They offer versions of the magazine for pre-k through high school, with stories that are age-appropriate.



My kiddos loved this magazine.  There was a cover photo on one of them about the wild horses and we were going to Assateague!  Talk about perfect timing.  :-)



Kiddo #3 is an animal lover and was excited to read an article about the birth of panda cubs at the Atlanta Zoo.



There were plenty of articles about current events, but written to their interest and academic level.

Kiddo #1, even though he is in high school, really enjoyed reading the article on "Lift" in the August issue.  He loves all things aviation, so this caught his attention right away.  The pages of the segment covered everything from the Wright Brothers to the crash of a Boeing jet in July and everything in between.  Even though the magazine was written for middle schoolers, I have to say that my high school son never once said that it was boring or baby-ish.  This definitely shows not only the quality of the writing in the magazine, but also the high interest of the articles.

We also received an awesome map.  It is of high quality and is made to correspond with the articles!  In each article, there are coordinates provided so the child can find where on the map the article is referring.  Makes it real for them and hands-on, which we love!  :-)



With a subscription, you also receive the following:

  • Biographies
  • Map (that I described above)
  • PDF lessons to go with the news stories
  • 2 new interactive websites for kids- God's World Kids and God's World News Teen
  • Weekly quizzes to go along with the news articles and answer keys
The subscription, when purchased from their website is $28.  The magazine is deliverred monthly (except May and December)

God's World News helps kids to grow not only in their faith, but in the world around them.  The readers are engaged to explore national and world events, people, places and discoveries in a safe Christian content.

Top Story (the middle school magazine) emphasizes News, Knowledge and Wisdom, focusing on specific skill development for older students including editorials to encourage critical thinking and teaching words in context.

I also received a sample copy of World (the magazine for adults) and was very impressed.  I have enjoyed reading it literally from cover to cover.  It contains articles of interest and relevance to myself and our family.

My colleagues on the Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed the different magazines available for all of the age groups.  You can read their posts by clicking on the banner below:


Photobucket

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Friday, October 18, 2013

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up October 19

I wanted to make sure I wrote a weekly wrap-up this week, as it was pretty busy last week and the time just went by without a post.  I love being able to recap, especially for my children, who really enjoy reading my blog.  :-)

And it has been an eventful couple of weeks for the kiddos (and their parents!)  :-)

The real highlight (of course, according to them is NOT their schoolwork. lol) has been the activities with their 4H club.  They all have enjoyed it so much.

On the 5th, the kiddos had their monthly 4H meeting followed by the first class of their preserves project.  They made an uncooked fruit jam (you can see photos and the recipe here) and also dried fresh herbs.


In between all of the fun 4H activities, there has been schoolwork, much to the kiddos' chagrin.  ;-)  Gotta love the whiteboard, though.  It makes math so much less painful!


In addition to the preserves project, the kiddos are doing a soap-making project.  The first item they made was an all-natural cleaning spray.  The family who hosted the event lives in a farmhouse built in 1752.  The children not only enjoyed making the cleaner, but seeing and petting all of the animals.




The same day, we headed to the 2nd day of the preserve project and the kiddos learned to can and dehydrate tomatoes!  That will be helpful around here, as we can lots of tomatoes.  ;-)





Columbus Day was on Monday, and we were glad to have my hubby home with us.  The older boys still had their online classes, but we had a fun day doing lots of our canning.  :-)  You can read my step-by-step tutorial, Pressure Canning 101 here.


On Tuesday night, after hubby got home from work, we got to canning our 50 ears of corn that we had purchased at a farm on Monday.  As the hour got later and later (canning corn takes a while), the kiddos decided to bake some cookies for all of us.  I think that is one of the greatest (and most fun!) benefits of homeschooling.  At 11pm, you can decide to bake cookies as the corn was processing.  There were so many laughs that evening.  Gotta love fun family time, no matter the hour!  :-)



Obviously, everyone was allowed to sleep a little longer on Wednesday, and even do school in their jammies.(well, that is actually most days!) ;-)  Gotta love homeschooling, lol.  Wednesday night was a special treat, a campfire with our 4H club.  It was held in a state park that was so serene and beautiful.  We saw deer everywhere.  The kiddos were amazed to see a buck, as well!  (we were driving and I couldn't get my camera out soon enough. :-( )


The children all made banana boats (yummy!), roasted marshmallows and even some hot dogs.  There was a fun bingo game in addition to games of 'manhunt' and going for walks.  It was a really enjoyable evening.



We are looking forward to another fun weekend with our good friends and an outing to a historical manor, as well as more 4H projects.  Sunday is Church and the much-awaited Eagles-Cowboys game.  Go Birds!  :-)

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed weekend with your families.  God bless!

My posts the past 2 weeks:

Uncooked Fruit Jam
Try a New Recipe Tuesday- 10/8
Bethany Beach Nature Center
Hearts for Home Blog Hop- 10/10
TOS Review- George Washington by YWAM Publishing
Field Trip Friday- 10/11
The Homemaker's Mentor Review and Giveaway
Homemade Sloppy Joes
Pressure Canning 101
Try a New Recipe Tuesday- 10/15
Hearts for Home Blog Hop- 10/17
Field Trip Friday- 10/18

What we're looking forward to in the week to come:
A field trip and 4H project on Saturday
Eagles Game and more canning on Sunday
Family Retreat with our church next weekend

Linking up today with:  Homeschool Mother's JournalWeekly Wrap-UpNOBHShow-Off FridayLearn and Link and It's a WrapFriendship Friday and Friday Connection and Family Fun Friday and T.G.I.F. Linky Party and Let's Homeschool High School and This Week

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Field Trip Friday- October 18

It is time again for Field Trip Friday!  I love seeing all of the wonderful places that you visit with your families.  :-)  I am happy to be joining my friend Jen at Chestnut Grove Academy for her wonderful linkup.  Also co-hosting with me is Misty from Mimi's House.  Be sure to visit their blogs, as well!  :-)



If you didn't get a chance to see all of the wonderful adventures that were shared last week, click here.  You won't be disappointed!  :-)  You will read about pumpkins, apple picking, going back in time by horseback riding and enjoying nature!

I look forward to seeing what will be shared this week!




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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Hearts for Home Blog Hop- October 17

Welcome to the Hearts for Home Blog Hop!  I am thrilled to be a co-host with 20+ other awesome bloggers!     :-)


The most clicked on post from last week was




Three of my favorites (they were ALL wonderful) include:





Were you featured this week?  If so, congratulations and help yourself to one of our "I was featured" buttons to display on your blog.



Hearts for Home Blog Hop
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Are you ready to share your posts this week?  Let's go!  Use the form below to enter your links.  Posts can be anything that shows your heart is for your home: homeschooling, homemaking, parenting, marriage, faith, family, crafts, etc.  Please just kindly link back to this blog or display our Hearts for Home button in your post or on your sidebar.



Hearts for Home Blog Hop
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