text: In the Kitchen with An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving
  This month our Poppins Book Nook theme was, To The Kitchen, perfect for November! It went well with our Thanksgiving unit study. We decided to read An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott. It is such a sweet story about sisters who try and take on the Thanksgiving dinner will their mother is off to care for their ailing grandmother. Of course, their kitchen adventures aren't without mistakes but in the end everyone is just happy to be together. We also used the book Explore Colonial America! by Verna Fisher, for a some colonial recipes.
  We spent a lot of time together in the kitchen this month. Not only for our Poppins Book Nook theme, but also my C's Mpact Girls class was focusing on cooking this month. In her class she learned about following a recipe, washing her hands before cooking, and lots of other cooking fun! Everything flowed together so well for us this month, it was awesome.
  First we tried out a recipe for Johnny Cakes that we got from a book about colonial days. The recipe was really simple: 2 cups cornmeal, 1 cup water, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons sugar. We tried half the recipe plain and half with blueberries mixed in. C really liked the blueberry version! They were a little plain, but it was fun to try something the colonists would have made.
  We also tried our hand at making homemade rock candy. Our book about Colonial America said that rock candy was a favorite later in the colonial period. In C's chemistry class on Saturday, that happened to be discussing crystals, so it was perfect! We let ours grow for one week and it was a little smaller than the ones you buy at a store but still plenty of sugar for a little one. :)
  C got a little adventurous in the kitchen this month. We had an apple taste test at co-op, she liked them all, especially Fuji and Granny Smith. We used the printables from 1+1+1. Then one day she surprised me by begging for sardines at the grocery store. I really try to not let my own opinions on food impact hers but I have to admit, I tried to talk her out of it. She insisted, she loved the idea of eating these little fish. She really enjoyed them! She surprised me again by deciding she likes hot sauce now. She's used it on meatloaf, eggs and potatoes so far. We certainly had an interesting month!
  Be sure to stop by the other participating bloggers and see what they were up to this month! Visit Enchanted Homeschooling Mom for a free lapbook that goes with our theme.