Pioneer Days!

In history we have been talking about the Pioneer Days and the History of America.  One project that we have done to put our learning to use is a model of the day!  We talked about what we wanted, and drew a picture of how we wanted it and how it should go.  This is what my 2nd grader came up with:

She has a cabin that was made out of craft sticks and toilet paper roll for the roof, with an outdoor fire place  made out of modeling clay and yarn for a fire.  She has a grave stone, because so many people died on the long harsh trip out west.  A covered wagon with a man driving (she also made a bull for pulling it, but one of the boys got hold of it.)  And in the upper left corner is a mountain with an Indian on it (went also had a horse that the boys got a hold of.  She was really able to put things together with the things that she learned and loved doing it. 



Working hard on the cabin!


 




Making the horse!



Some of the peices!









  

  

 

Homemade Poptarts!

I was wanting to make some poptarts for my children this morning!  Well, it didn't happen!  Anyways, we just got done making some for tomorrow morning.  The children were all right there helping out, so was my husband!  We were rolling, cutting, spreading, sealing, and putting sprinkles on!  Some just can out of the oven and the word is out:  "Very Good!"  Fun family event and learning, too!  So if you would like to try, here you go: 

Homemade Healthy Poptarts
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup melted butter
1 cup plain yogurt
About 5 ounces of 100% fruit jelly or jam – any flavor you like!

Begin by mixing the flour, salt, butter and yogurt. 

Knead the dough just a little bit to make it nice and workable.  Roll out the dough on a large, well floured surface.  Use a knife to cut the dough into the desired poptart size you would like. 

Place about a 1/2 teaspoon of jelly on 1/2 of the dough rectangles (squares?).  Spread the jelly around, leaving the edges free.  Find a second square or rectangle or thingamajigger that matches closely
with each jellied one.  Place it on top and use a fork to seal the edges.

Lay each poptart in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake in a 350° oven for about 25 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.

This recipe makes around 15-20 poptarts, depending on how big you make them.

I have found that making them ahead of time and then putting them in a toaster oven to re-heat makes for a very fast and popular breakfast!  These CAN be frozen as well.  Bake them first, let them cool and then freeze until you’re ready to re-heat and eat!