Greek Food - Baklava

We are about to finish up the book Story of the Greeks, by H. E. Guerber, so today we made Baklava in honor of our study of Greek history.  We used a recipe from Allrecipes.com, and it turned out great! 

We had an assembly line going.

Mmmmm.....

2nd Annual Blueberry Picking & Davey Crockett Birthplace

We went blueberry picking again this year.

Someone is grumpy.

Then we headed over to Davey Crockett's Birthplace for a picnic.

We walked through the museum and watched a movie about Davey Crockett.

Then we checked out the replica of his cabin.


Finally, we went down to the river for some play time with our friends.

Story Time

by Lizzie

During story time we all do different activities. Each day we pick a new activity to do. We have a lot of choices. Britany and I normally prefer to color or stamp. Sometimes the little girls will play a computer game so they won't distract us, but it doesn't always work. Ronnie and Mary prefer to just sit and listen. Mitchell does unique things with wire and sometimes paper. It's really fun, but we do have to pay attention.

Gracie (above) and Alli (below) playing the Zoboomafoo Creature Quest ABC Animal Adventure.

Teacher's pet. ;)

Mary thinks the best thing about homeschooling is learning while on the couch. :)

Mitchell wire sculpting.

The little girls are drinking tea. Frequently in the winter we make a hot tea to drink during story time.

Cooking at Rocky Mount

Cooking in 1791
by Ronnie

When we went to Rocky Mount we cooked bacon, corn bread, and tea the way they did it in 1791. In wealthy homes the kitchen was a separate building from the house, because if the kitchen burned down, the whole house would. A slave cooked for the whole family, and lived in the attic above the kitchen. We made our own tea bags, and put spices in our tea from the garden. We cooked corn bread from scratch in a cast iron pot called a dutch oven. Everything we cooked was cooked over an open fire. The room felt like it was at least 200 degrees. We were told that more women died because of the kitchen fire than childbirth. In 1791 the children had chores to keep a good supply of water throughout the day for the slave, and to keep the dishes washed. I am awfully glad that I live in the year 2008, with an oven, running water and electricity!

Cooking at Rocky Mount
by Britany

At Rocky Mount we were able to take a cooking class so that we could understand how the cooking was done in the 1970’s. Megan, Jemma and I were in the corn bread group, Ronnie, Keegan and Mitchell were in the tea group, and a couple other kids made bacon. When we made the corn bread we used one and one-half cup corn meal, one egg, one tablespoon of oil, and one and one-half cup of milk. We stirred it until it was mixed well. Then, we set the pan of batter on hot coals that we scooped out of the fire, and scooped out more hot coals to put on the lid. It took about 15 to 20 minutes to cook. While we were waiting for the corn break to cook, we went outside to see the Spring House, and gather some mint leaves for the tea. We gathered spearmint, peppermint, and lemon balm leaves. When we got back to the kitchen the corn bread wasn’t quite finished yet, so we finished the tea and sat around talking for a few minutes. When it was done, we all enjoyed the snack we had made. It was very good. When we were done we had to wash our own dishes and put them away.

The McClung House

Photograph by Mitchell

Build in the 1790's, this house is thought to have been used as a hospital

for wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

An Interesting Cabin

An Interesting Cabin

by: Britany

Photograph by Mitchell

At the Appalachian museum I saw the actual cabin that Mark Twain lived in as a child, and it was interesting how similar it was to the one that is in my book, "The Little House in The Big Woods". In Twain's cabin was a trundle bed right below the regular bed. In my book Mary and Laura slept in the trundle bed. In a corner in the back of the room I saw a baby crib which was like the one that baby Carrie slept in. In front of the fireplace there was a butter churn. Mary used the butter churn to make butter. Above the fireplace hung a gun. In my book Pa would come home from a long day in the forest, and hang his gun over the fireplace. In the front of the cabin, in the left hand corner, there was a fiddle sitting on a table. In the evenings Pa would play his fiddle until the girls were asleep. Looking at Twain's cabin really brought the book I'm reading to life.