If your name was changed at Ellis Island.

We have several books from this series, but last month we went to the home school library and found this book -
.If your name was changed at Ellis island It caught Moms attention because her Great-Grandparents last name was changed at Ellis Island. We started school last week and we are studying Ellis Island for history. There is a  lot of good information. Here are some questions they have answers too.
What was Ellis Island?
Why did people leave their homelands?
What did they bring with them?
Was the sea voyage dangerous?
Where did you go when you landed at Ellis Island?
Did you have to be able to read English?
What would you eat?
Where would you sleep? 
and MANY more!!!

We  have learned so much from this one book.
And there are many more in the series that we have enjoyed and learned a lot from. 

If you lived in Colonial times
If you lived 100 years ago.
If you lived at the time of the American revolution
If you lived at the time of the civil war
If you lived with the Siox Indians
If you traveled west on a covered wagon
If you were there when they signed the constitution
If you sailed on the mayflower in 1820
If you grew up in the time of George Washington

 I have relatives on both sides that came through Ellis Island. On my Dads side my Great-great Grandmother came through Ellis Island from Sweden. She was 15 years old. She worked as a maid for awhile and then worked for another family that had a little girl that taught her English. Then on my Mothers side they came through Ellis Island as well.  We are not sure of all the facts on moms side.
 It was interesting reading in it that most people that came from Poland had to sneak away in the night because the government did not like young men and boys leaving. The government wanted them for their army.

1 out of 2 people have descendents from Ellis Island. Comment if you had relatives that came through Ellis Island.

                                                                                                         Abigail

This is part of our affiliate link. 

15 of our favorite books for 5-7 year olds.

                                                15 of our favorite books for
                                                           5-7 year olds.

Books from Rachel`s book shelf 

1. Little Mommy by Sharon Kane
    This is a little girl one of course :) but one all little girls need to have.

2. Doctor Dan the bandage man by Helen Gasperd
    Everyone loves Doctor Dan!

3. Nurse Nancy by Kathryn Jackson
    And all little nurses need to read this:)

4. A day at the seashore by Kathryn Byon Jackson
   Wonderful old fashioned pictures with "old" bathing suits.

5. The animals of farmer jones  You can get this book and the one below or get the book that both and more are in. Little golden book collection farm stories 

6. Mrs Mooley
    An funny book that will get little listeners laughing at the funny scatter brained cow who tried to jump over the moon!

7. A name for kitty
    If you have pets you can understand the little boy in this story. He didn`t know what to name his kitty!

8. Seven little postmen by Margeret Wise Brown   or you can get the  Little golden book collection friendly tales that the one above and the two below are in.

9. The sailor dog
     A adventuresome dog who gets shipwrecked.

10. The princess and the kiss by Jennie Bishop
      A book that every girl needs to read, starting at this age.

11. A Beatrix Potter treasury
      Another all age book, we have 3 copies!(bought at different times by different people.)

12. The Jesus storybook bible by Sally Llod Jones 
A good one after reading the Beginners bible .

13. Caps for sale
      50 cents a cap, caps for sale!!!!

14. My big green pocketbook
      Everyone loves this book!

15. Katy no pocket
      Katy does not have to pocket to carry her baby kangaroo in! What will Katy do? A wonderful book from the same people as Curious George.

                                                                                                   Abigail

this is part of our affiliate program. 

15 of our favorite books for 3-5 year olds...

                                         15 of our favorite books for 3-5 year olds


I asked Graham to show me what his favorite books are. These are the results!!!!

 1. Secrets Jesus told by Penny Frank
   We used to have the whole series of this but now only have a few. But they are still a favorite!                                                                                      
2.Winnie the pooh and the honey tree
   Who can live without a pooh book?

3. Jonah runs away by Penny Frank
     Another from the Penny Frank series.

4. My very first mother goose by Iona Opic
    We got this one from the library and while it was still at the house we saw the same thing at good-will!!!

5. God always forgives us set
    Its not a board board book but not a soft cover either. A good book for 4 year old`s :)

6. Curious George feeds the animals by Margeret Rey
    Graham loves his monkeys!!!!

7. The Stephen Cartwright ABC
     James learned his ABC`s on this one. We really like the pictures. 

8. Read to your bunny by Rosemary Wells
    We got this from the hospital when Emma was born and Graham likes looking at it. 

9.  Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
     Everyone here loves Leo Lionni books!!

10.  The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
       And speaking of Leo Lionni we can`t let Eric Carle feel left out!

11. The beginners bible
      Both Ryan and James got this for their 6 birthdays then when James turned 9 (big number:) he gave his old bible to Graham as a present and he loved it :)

12. The Tale of Mister Tod by Beatrix Potter
      We have the Beatrix Potter`s treasury and Graham`s favorite book in it is "The tale of mister Tod!"

13. Llama llama red pajama by Anna Dewdney
      No Llama drama over these! Graham`s favorite books ever! 

14. Llama llama home with mama by Anna Dewdney

15  Llama llama nighty-night by Anna Dewdney

15 of our favorite books for 6 months - 2 years old

We are starting up our family blog again!!! It is still under construction. We often get requests for our favorite books so I offered to help Mom list them. Hopefully one day we will get how we make our yogurt as we get so many requests for it. Abigail
                                                   
                                                           15 of our favorite books
                                                            for 6 months - two years


1.   Animal noises by Stephen Cartwright We love this one. We have had this one as long as I can remember!

2.   Baby touch and feel trucks  Even Emma likes this one!

3.   Touch and feel home The mirror is foggy and the rug is faded but we still love this book!

4. Usborne touchy feely farm Grandparents bought this one for Graham and he had fun seeing the "moo-moos and "cockle-doodle-dos"!!!!

5.  Good morning P.B Bear My Dad can recite the whole thing to you!!! We have had this book for 13 years now. Same copy!

6.   Animal babies usborne farmyard Another favorite!

7.   Ellie`s tea party We got this one at a garage sale for Rachel several years ago but some of the other kids liked it too.

8.  That`s not my bunny- Fiona Watt We LOVE this series.

9.   The christmas story- Patricia Watt - Family bought this for us YEARS ago. We keep it out even when it`s not christmas time! 

10.ABC  Teach them young:)

11. Find the duck I can remember looking at this one when I was little with Dad trying to find the duck.

12. .Find the piglet- Stephen Cartwright Another one I remember looking at!

13. Fisher Price- My little people farm  One of Graham`s favorites!!

14. Let`s go to the zoo Another favorite!!

 15. The christmas star-Marcus Pfester Another keep-out. We LOVE LOVE LOVE the pictures!


                                                                                                               Abigail O.
 P.S Babies and toddlers older than 1 year old will probably like these too.


This is part of our affiliate program.

DVD Review

It has been a long time since I have blogged anything. We have been busy here with life & school.

I have a DVD review to share. It is called "Homesteading for Beginners" By Pearl Outdoor Production. It is so good. I had seen it in the "No Greater Joy" by the Pearls several times. Finally 6 months later I bought it because several of the things listed we were wanting to learn more about. Wow! I was not expecting it to be so good and informative. It is great! My kids just LOVE it. We have watched it many times and have learned so much. Even my husband liked it. He even said to me "wow that is really great and informative...wish you would of bought it 4 years ago....."
This DVD is good if you live in the country OR in town. Yes, there is more for you if you are in the country, but many things for in town too. If you garden, make wholesome meals from scratch, are into making butter, keifer & so on you will like it. I can't say enough about it. Very wholesome & family friendly.....and YES, it is worth every penny.
You can get the DVD here.

Celebrating Easter with children

I believe it is important to keep Easter about Christ and about Jesus dying on the cross, but I also think it is helpful for children to do activities to learn more about Christ and Easter.

I have a few books & learning tools I thought I would share.

The first item I would like share is "Passion Hymns for a Kids Heart" by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada. This book and CD set is just wonderful. All of our children just love it. Our three year old goes around the house singing "He Arose". This is a great tool for any family to have. I highly recommened this for any family preparing for Easter. All the hymns are perfect for the Easter season.
Next is:

The First Easter by Carol Heyer

The Very First Easter by Paul L. Maier

Finally I will share something we just got this year to try....

Resurrection Eggs by Family Life - We are getting excited to try these out. I have heard positive things.

The book that you can get to go with the Resurrection eggs is "The Story of the Resurrection Eggs Benjamin's Box" by Melody Carlson. I ordered this book along with the Resurrection Eggs. It looks great.

I hope to post in the next few weeks some activities you can do with your children during the Easter season.

Wild Rice Blend Soup

I thought of a friend when making this soup today....as it is healthy, easy and frugal.....all of her goals too....So I thought I would post it for everyone....
It is a tasty healthy soup that our whole enjoys.....

Wild Rice Blend Soup
I adapted this recipe from the Two sisters cookbook...I took out a few things, added a few things, and switched a few ingredients! I played around with it until I came up with the following recipe. It is dairy free!

1/4 cup coconut oil
1 white onion - chopped
5-6 carrots - diced
4 stalks celery - thinly cut
7-8 cups chicken bone broth (You can check out this link to get more info on the power of bone broth)
2 cups cooked wild rice blend (I get ours at Azure. Click this link and it will take you right to it)
1 Tablespoon salt
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Parsley
1 can Thai organic coconut milk
shredded chicken

In a saucepan melt coconut oil, add onions, carrots, celery. Cook for about 5 min. Add in chicken broth, seasonings, coconut milk, cooked wild rice blend, and shredded chicken.
I let it simmer for the afternoon.
We like to add muffins or sourdough biscuits as a side and a salad!
Enjoy!