Did you know that thousands of years ago the ancient Chinese were already dyeing fabric?

Or that the Maya in South America created red dye from ground insects?

Instead of buying those pre-packaged egg-dye kits this year, why not create your own natural dyes?

You have most of the ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry already. Experimenting with various vegetables and spices and turning out eggs that are one-of-a-kind is a great hands-on, multi-age project.

Here’s how:

Preparation

The items we used are pictured above. (We had to go to the store to get red cabbage to get a bluer-blue, so add that one.)  Here is a list of what we used this year and the color that each material yielded:

• yellow onion skins: dark red
• red onion skins: purplish-red
• coffee: light to dark brown
• tea: light tan/golden brown
• spinach: light green
• turmeric (spice): bright yellow
• red cabbage: bright blue
• raspberries: light pink

Gather items you can use to make dye, such as the ones above.  Try some other spices, grass, flower petals and other items you might have outside – with one crucial caveat:

 Check and make sure that nothing is poisonous, please! 

You would not want to touch or have your children touch plant parts that are poisonous, and you certainly would not want to put anything poisonous in your cookware. If you do not have a thorough field guide to your local plant life, just stick to vegetables and spices.

You will need at least four small saucepans. (Smaller pans don’t require so much dye material.)

Depending upon how many eggs you would like to dye and how much material you have  -  I recommend at least 12-18 uncooked white eggs. It seems over the years that some eggs absorb dye better than others – I am not sure why that would be; does anyone know?

IMPORTANT NOTE: Authorities say eggs are not safe to eat if they have been out of the fridge more than two hours after cooking, so keep track of this unless you aren’t going to eat them.

Method

1. Chop (veggies/skins) or mash (berries) each item that needs it and put a cup or more in each saucepan with the egg(s).  The typical four burner stove allows four saucepans/dye colors to be done at one time.
2. Measure about two cups of water  - or just enough to cover the egg(s) – add one tablespoon of white vinegar for each cup of water. Stir it.
3. Boil the eggs for 20 minutes and turn the heat off or remove pan from burner.
4. Check the color of the eggs.  Leave them in the water longer/add more dying material if you would like a deeper value.
5. You can even leave the eggs in the water overnight if you refrigerate the pan with the water and the eggs. (Cool before putting in your fridge.)

Leaving three eggs  in red cabbage/water overnight (in the fridge) resulted in the gorgeous blue pictured below!

Other Method

Another method is to use the procedure above but without cooking the eggs until you have boiled the material for an hour and strained it.

Once the dyeing material has been boiled and removed by straining, use the water to boil the raw eggs  for 20 minutes.  This probably results in a more solid, uniform color, rather than the “textural” look of our eggs.

I have never tried this.

Perhaps I was too impatient to boil it for an hour….

While You are Waiting

While you are waiting for the eggs to cook/dye to take, you might read and talk about the history of dye creation. Here are a couple of links to get you* started:

General historical info about dye: http://www.ehow.com/about_5422885_history-fabric-dyes.html (Science)

Dying silk: http://www.advantour.com/silkroad/dyeing-of-silk-fabrics.htm (Science/history)

The famous “Silk Road” trading route: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/silk-road/ (History/geography)

*Please do not let your kids loose on links without first taking a thorough look – I did not read every word on every page connected to these.

The Results

When you are done cooking the eggs and you are happy with the color, remove them from the dye water, gently pat dry and refrigerate. The egg carton they came in is a perfect place to keep them. When they have cooled, shine them up with a little vegetable oil to bring out the color.

 Here is a photo of our latest creations:

What About You?

Have you ever dyed your eggs using natural dyes?  How did they turn out? Do you have any dyeing material that you particularly like?

I would love to hear about it!

This is part of “The Adoration of the Shepherds” by Giorgione

Christmas is the perfect time to be reading living books. Even those of you who are not Charlotte Mason homeschoolers,  please take time during this holiday season to read special books with your children. This is a slightly updated  post, originally written by Beth Hempton, formerly of Epi Kardia. We highly recommend all of the books listed here, so if you are looking for superlative stories for nieces, nephews or your own children, look no further!  –Dana

Some of my most precious Christmas memories revolve around books. Every year, my Mom would unpack her Reader’s Digest collection of Christmas stories and place it on the coffee table. Every year, I would pick up the heavy, hardbound anthology and read it as if I had never read it before. I also had a well worn copy of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and I don’t think a movie version was ever made that rivaled my imagination, which swirled with a combination of frightening images and tender vignettes as Scrooge learned to love and be loved. However, the hands down favorite for me was my father retelling of O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. My father is not a great lover of literature, being much more concerned with science and facts, but for some reason O. Henry’s irony held Dad captive. To this day, it is my favorite O.Henry story and I will never forget how romantic the couple’s sacrificial love seemed to me as an adolescent girl.

Imaginatively illustrated, simply written children’s picture books can create cherished family memories as well as prized gifts. If you’re looking for some new story treasures for your family, consider some of these favorites. You can purchase them from Amazon by simply clicking the links in the titles.

• Shoemaker Martin written by Leo Tolstoy, illustrated by Bernadette Watts - This picture book actually became one of my favorites after I had my own children, even though it was originally written in the 1800s. The author, Tolstoy, also wrote the most acclaimed novel ever published, War and Peace, and yet, later in life became a Christian and wrote this beloved short story. With the focus on Christ, it’s an ideal story for Christmas although it’s not generally known as a holiday book. Tolstoy’s main point, as presented in this picture book, that Jesus reveals Himself through us in every day life isn’t overly challenging for a young child to understand and yet, it’s an excellent stepping stone for a mature discussion of how the things we do, as believers, affect everyone around us. The illustrations in this particular version are detailed and captivating while the text, translated from Russian, maintains its simplistic story telling quality.

•  The Gift of the Magi written by O. Henry – O. Henry is another one of those late 1800s story tellers, although he wrote mainly about American life. As I previously noted, this short story holds a special place in my childhood memories. We didn’t have the picture books, when I was a child, now available with their glorious original paintings. Both of the versions that I have read recently, one illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger and the other by P.J. Lynch, are very comparable in their presentations. P.J. Lynch, one of my absolute favorite illustrators (you will see the name several times in this blog alone) and his soft, but realistic paintings almost tell the story on their own. It’s no wonder that Lynch is a two time winner of the prestigious Kate Greenaway award. Yet, Zwerger’s tender illustrations in this particular book actually seem to give off the romantic gaslight qualities of the time period in which the story was written. You’ll have to make the decision or better yet, buy them both!

• We Believe in Christmas written by Karen Kingsbury and illustrated by Daniel J. Brown - This modern picture is ideally suited for younger children. The text clearly expresses one family’s reasons for celebrating Christmas, rather than “the holiday season.” The vivid illustrations with bright colors and a realistic presentation make it easy for younger children to understand. Related Christmas activity: Make a book with your children revealing why your family believes in Christmas. Focus on what your family does each holiday season and how your traditions relate to your family’s belief in Christ and celebrating His birth. It could be as simple as pages stapled together where you write main ideas on each page and your children illustrate them. For a more sophisticated project, an older child could design the book on the computer.

• The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski and illustrated by P.J. Lynch – Along a similar, but less dark, story line as A Christmas Carol, this is the tale of a reclusive, yet talented, wood cutter who comes to life after being asked to create a Christmas nativity for a mom and her young son. One of my favorite qualities of this story is the flowing language that the author uses including when she describes Toomey, “He went about mumbling and grumbling, muttering and sputtering, grumping and griping.” More creative phraseology occurs when Wojciechowski expresses, “He traveled until his tears stopped.” As usual, Lynch’s illustrations bring life and feeling to the sentimental story with vibrant details including a wood tone shading to match the main character’s gifted profession.

• The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus’ Birth written by Dandi Mackall and illustrated by Deborah Chabrian – In this story, a depression era mother shares a family tradition with her son, Jack. The tradition involves baking cookies and giving them to others to share the story of Christ. When Jack receives an angel cookie as his only Christmas gift, he decides to give it to a stranger and share what he believes. Illustrations of warm watercolors appropriately accompany this simple, but essential story and the author even includes a Christmas cookie recipe. Related Christmas activity: Make Christmas cookies of angels and other Christian symbols to take to a homeless shelter, children’s hospital, orphanage or other institution where children can enjoy them while you and your family share this sweet book. You could also leave your copy of the book for the children to read repeatedly.

• A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens and illustrated by P.J. Lynch – Yes, another book illustrated by Lynch!  I would recommend this book for older children due to the seriousness of some of the illustrations. Although the illustrations are darker in places than his other books, this particular story requires them at certain points to maintain the integrity of the original plot.

• Christmas Day in the Morning written by Pearl S. Buck and illustrated by Mark Buehner – Pearl S. Buck is best known as the author of the classic novel, The Good Earth. This is the first time this story has been published in picture book version since its original conception in 1055 as a short story. Its realistic human qualities feature a teenage boy suddenly discovering how much his father loves him. With that realization, the son works to come up with a gift that his father will truly appreciate. A tie in with the nativity moves this story from a simple feel good plot to the real reason behind Christmas. With sincere expression and homey illustrations, this book is sure to become an inspiration for many children to honor their parents in practical and helpful ways.

I hope that my reviews of these favorites provide you with a tool for choosing some new Christmas books for your family and save you some shopping time this holiday season.

Happy reading and many blessings,

Beth

Including  fun activities along with academics is crucial to maximizing engagement and learning.  Here is a resource that I GUARANTEE your children will enjoy so much they will not even realize that they are learning. 

English Country Dancing

Recently a nineteen year old homeschool graduate Garrett Stowe, whose family is a long time user of Epi Kardia/Train up a Child Publishing curricula, sent me a wonderfully professional instructional DVD he produced to teach others how to participate in the entertaining group activity: English Country Dancing.

I was so impressed!

The cover of the DVD is shown above and a screen shot of Garrett during the film’s introductory comments is below.

I was thrilled to preview the DVD and found it not only to be professionally recorded, but a solid historical resource suitable for all homeschoolers, no matter which homeschooling philosophy or curricula you use. In addition to step-by-step directions for and demonstrations of six well-loved historical dances, English Country Dancing includes accompanying period music and lovely artwork depicting the enchanting fashions of this era.  Furthermore, the DVD offers additional historical narrative describing Victorian dancing etiquette – even revealing how proper single ladies used their fans to demurely communicate with potential suitors! Fascinating!

Here are some more details about English Country Dancing  from its creator:

Garrett, what inspired you to create this DVD?

Garrett: With my first introduction to the Civil War era dancing, I realized that this was a wonderful way to bring the family and community together for good, “old-fashioned” fun! Unfortunately, there were not many people who knew the dances, and every time we hosted a dance, we ended up spending half our time teaching the new dancers. After several frustrating dances, my (very creative) mother suggested that I combine my enjoyment of the dances and my interest in cinematography to create an instructional DVD that would allow people to learn the dances at home. 

Then when you held a dance, you could spend their time dancing instead of just teaching! Makes sense!

Side note: Even though Garrett and friends enjoyed this type of dancing and thought of it primarily just as fun, I suspect his (also very wise) mother saw this entertaining activity as an extension of their history studies, don’t you think?

What historical topics do you cover in the DVD?

The history of the Victorian/Civil War era is incredibly rich and entire documentaries have been dedicated to understanding their society. In our DVD [we] attempted to capture the beautiful etiquette, manners, and fashion of the day; especially where it pertained to dancing. Some of their customs can be somewhat humorous but many still have application today.

Why did you decide to title your DVD English Country Dancing?  Weren’t these dances done in the United States as well?

Garrett: The title English Country Dancing often confuses people and understandably so; after all, many of the dances we cover were also enjoyed in the United States. We had a hard time deciding on a title that accounted for all the origins of the dances included in the DVD. We had dances originating from Celidah Dancing, English Country Dancing, Scottish Country Dancing and even American Folk Dancing. But, at the root of all these dances was the underlying emphasis on timing and precise movements that so typified English Country Dancing. So, for simplicity’s sake, we grouped all the dances under [that title].  

How old are these dances and from where did they come?

Garrett: Supposedly, the Virginia Reel has been in existence for almost 400 years. Although not all the dances in the DVD are quite so long lived, most originated in the mid-nineteenth century and were most popular in Europe and America through the Victorian/Civil War Era. Some of the dances were peasant dances from Ireland (like the Cumberland Reel), others were dances of the aristocracy (such as the Gothic Dance or Soldier’s Joy), but all [played] a central part in every community gathering. There were even dances for children to join in on; my favorite is the Patticake polka … even my three year old sister can dance it like an expert! Today, the dances are enjoyed by everyone with a love for history and a taste for family fun.

Where did you find period costumes to wear for the production?

Garrett: The period costumes used for the dances were almost entirely hand made by the dancers. All the ladies sewed their own gowns and many of the men wore costumes made by sisters or friends.

Using English Country Dancing with your History Studies

Incorporating this entertaining activity into your history studies is easy. Here are several ways:

1.  Just watch it!  This enjoyable and informative DVD is a delightful break from the normal routine.

2.  Use English Country Dancing to introduce studies of this time period. Have your student take notes on the historical portions of the DVD and use ideas from it for further research and writing on any of the following topics:

• Queen Victoria
• the Victorian Era (the time Queen Victoria reigned in England – from 1819 to 1901)
• Victorian Morality
• The American Civil War
• Civil War past-times
• More about Fan Language
• The Language of Flowers

3.   Have your students study and practice the dances of the DVD as they complete their reading and writing on this time period. Have them use the DVD to help plan a celebratory unit-culminating event with a few other homeschooling families. Make costumes, check out some authentic music from your public library and recruit some other dancers. Serve ice cream to your guests after the dancing. (After all, ice cream was on the scene during this time and considered quite the delicacy.)

Win Your Own Copy of English Country Dancing!

Not only is this charming, well-made DVD academically useful, the dances are suitable for a small to large group from ages 6 to 60, are simple to learn and continually shift dancers to different partners (rather than encouraging ‘couples’).

So could you put a copy of English Country Dancing to good use in your homeschool? If so, please participate in our contest! We are going to be giving away one  English Country Dancing DVD!

We will be collecting entries from now until Friday night 9/28/12 at 11:30 p.m. and having a random drawing Saturday morning, so don’t delay.

Choose one or more of the following activities to participate; each thing you do increases your chances to win!

Make sure you leave a separate comment below EACH time you complete one of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling us how you would incorporate English Country Dancing into your homeschool history studies.
2. Leave a comment on another recent post on this blog and let us know you did.
3. Visit and “Like” our new Train up a Child Publishing Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/trainupachildpub.
4. Tweet this offer and let us know you did.
5. Share this offer on your Facebook page and let us know you did.
6. Share this offer on one of your Pinterest boards and let us know you did.
7. Grab our new blog button (at left sidebar) and post it on your blog – include your blog address in your comment.

In addition to our give-away we will be offering a limited number English Country Dancing DVDs on our website for an introductory price of $12.97 (plus S&H).  At this price – think CHRISTMAS and buy several!

So, if you know your right hand from your left, you can walk and you can count to eight, this excellent history resource will help you make hours of wonderful memories, and teach you something as well!

This is something our whole family will love! How about yours?

Follow @dana_wilson

Welcome to the March 20th edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival!

If you are new here, you will want to carve a little time out of your day, grab a cup of coffee or tea and spend some time perusing the articles  from homeschooling moms who use Charlotte Mason’s methodology in their home schools. Expect to learn, be inspired and encouraged!

This edition’s theme is “Education is a Discipline,” but there are always posts that relate to other areas of Miss Mason’s philosophy included in the carnival. And we usually squeeze in a few posts on the last edition’s topic as well.

I hope those of you who are in ‘cold country’ especially, will enjoy the photos! Your flowers will come soon, I promise.

Parenting = Teaching and Training

The parent who believes that the possibilities of virtuous training are unlimited will set to work with cheerful confidence, will forego the twaddle about ‘Nature,’ whether as lovely in itself or as an irresistible force, and will perceive that the first function of the parent is that function of discipline … — Volume 2, p. 65

Nancy, from Sage Parnassus, posts Parents as Rulers, Inspirers, and Revealers – Charlotte Mason on Thoughtful Parenting, wherein she suggests that Miss Mason had much to offer not only the educator, but also the parent.  Melissa also shares her thoughts and ruminations on our topic from her blog, Educating Mother: Education is a Discipline {chewing on a couple of things}.  Barb at Harmony Art Mom offers us food for thought with her post entitled Homeschooling for Life and Not a Lifestyle. I agree that Charlotte would have wanted to see her charges develop a lifelong love for learning.

Editor’s Note:  Due to a technical problem, this is a post that is being added a few hours after the publishing of this issue:

Here is Erin’s post, Education is a Discipline, from her blog, Seven Little Australians and Counting.

A very clear presentation of how Sarah instills morning habits in her children, Discipline and the Two R’s,  is posted on her blog, All That’s Good. I love these concrete examples, don’t you?  Another beneficial post along these lines is by Tammy, who chronicles her experience Curing the Habit of Frustration, presented on her blog, Aut-2B-Homeincarolina.

Why Homeschool? Retaining Sibling Relationships, is a thoughtful post by Kelly at The Homeschool Co-op. You will not only enjoy the post – the photos of her kids are too cute!  Nadene also talks about her children, and transparently shares a current struggle  implementing the ‘perfect’ Charlotte Mason home school.  Read her post, Stresses and Struggles, on her blog, Practical Pages.

Poetry Study

Here are a few posts that either didn’t make it into the last edition of the carnival or were included after it was initially published: Laura shares her first experiences sharing poetry with her son at her blog, Windy Hill Home School in her post entitled Poetry.  At the other end of the homeschooling spectrum, here is an inspiring poem with suggestions for middle and high school lesson plans included on the Epi Kardia Blog, Poetry Study: Anne Bradstreet: Puritan Poet.  Additionally, Amy from Fisher Academy International shares her very useful post on how to analyze poetry For Novel Poetry Analysts…Like Me!.

Nature Study & the Arts

The Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival would not be complete without celebrating nature and all we may learn there, especially during the delightful Spring season! Barb at her Handbook of Nature Study blog shares her informative and visually cheerful post, Early Spring Flowers – Nature Study and Art Project. After Barb’s post, head over to Hodgepodge where Trish offers us 10 Easter and Spring Arts and Crafts activities to enjoy.   Jimmie at Jimmies Collage then features her Georgia O’Keeffe  Artist Study (along with the display of her daughter’s beautiful work!) Thanks to all three ladies for the lesson plans and photos of gorgeous art work to inspire us.

Even if you are not quite ready for the art studies, Melissa’s post Snippets from Charlotte on Being Outdoors will encourage you to carve out the time to regularly leave your four walls and go outside (with your children!) on her blog, Bugs, Knights, and Turkeys in the Yard.

Living Math

In her post at Jimmie’s Collage, Jimmie describes how she incorporates principles of “living” math along with a textbook curriculum in Using Teaching Textbooks in a Living Math Approach.

Scripture Prayer Calendar

And, finally, a lovely gift to us of a downloadable Scripture Prayer Calendar from Nadene of Practical Pages. Thank you, Nadene, for the helpful photos and clear directions for creating our own calendars, as well as for the reminder of the need to be lifting up our children in prayer.

Thank you to all of the authors for their useful entries and to our readers for taking the time to read and comment on our posts!

The next Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival on April 3rd will be hosted by Jimmie at Jimmie’s Collage. The theme will be Living Books –  (definition of, why we use them, our favorites, choosing books, etc.)
* PR article to read for background: Schoolbooks and How They Make for Education.

Editor’s Note: if you would like to have one of your posts included in the next edition of the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival, please send the following to charlottemasonblogs@gmail.com instead of using the blog carnival form:

• the name of and link to your blog
• the title of and link to your post
• any remarks you would like to make about your post

Blessings~

P.S. Reminder to those interested in entering a no-strings-attached give-away of a year of Charlotte Mason curricula : click here to see how to enter. The random drawing will tomorrow, March 21st.

There is an element of satisfaction in making a salt dough or cookie dough map, especially effective if everyone is ready for a break from the books.

Of course, the anticipation of eventually being able to eat the map is exciting to most students, but the fact is, anytime you can add a hands-on element to school, it is a positive thing. Studies have indicated that hands on learning might be much more effective for many students than the typical textbook-and-lecture approach.

I know, it is a messy endeavor, but that is part of the fun.

 The recipe below makes several tasty peanut butter-flavored maps.  The recipe yields a few larger or a plethora of smaller maps.

Keep reading after the recipe to see map ideas per historical period.

Dough

2 cups smooth peanut butter 2 1/2 cups powdered milk 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar 2 cups white corn syrup Mix all of the ingredients together and put portions on wax paper if you are creating smaller maps,  or want to freeze portions for future small maps.   For one or more large maps, you will need a sturdy cardboard (or perhaps several layers of cardboard glued together) for a base.  You can also use a large plastic cutting board.

Ideas for Decorations

• blue icing or white icing with blue glitter for lakes and oceans
• green sprinkles for forested areas
• cinnamon sugar for deserts
• chocolate chips for mountain ranges
• black or red licorice strips for rivers
• Red Hots for capitals
• M&Ms for major cities

Don’t forget to make a map key, especially for a large map.

Map Ideas Across History

The following ideas are taken from our Complete Programs and Daily Lesson Plans corresponding to our historical units:

Ancients (Creation to AD 476)

• Ancient China, showing the Great Wall and major cities, rivers, deserts and other land forms
• Roman Empire at its height of influence

Make sure you take a picture  of your cookie dough map before it is consumed!

Do you think your children would enjoy making cookie maps?