Culturing for Science Class: Kombucha & the Fungi Kingdom

Kombucha
  In science, my children have been studying taxonomy recently. We read about the Animal, Plant, and Protista Kingdoms.  As we reached the Fungi Kingdom, we learned that fungi do not ingest their food like animals do or make their own food, like plants, but absorb nutrients from their environment through their bodies.  They do
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Don’t Fall Into the Comparison Trap

comparison trap
I belong to an online support group for mothers of pediatric stroke survivors. Periodically, a post will appear from a mom who took her child to a playground and was upset because children of a similar age or younger could do things her child can’t do yet. When these posts appear, I respond by warning
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How to Make Pumpkin Pie Play Dough

  This summer, while I was filing away schoolwork that we completed last year, I came across a cherished recipe that I’d been searching for. I discovered this recipe for pumpkin pie play dough several years ago when my son was in kindergarten. It was the first time that I tried making homemade play dough,
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Nature Study: Sprouting an Avocado Pit in a Pot

avocado pit
  About two years ago, my children and I started an avocado tree by putting a pit in a jar with water, suspended with toothpicks. You can read about that here. We had tried sprouting avocado pits this way before, once with success (until my cat ate the plant). Most of the time, though, they
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The Benefits of Summer School

benefits of summer school
  I have fond memories of the lazy days of summer from my childhood. So, when I began homeschooling, I intended to have our homeschool year follow our local school district’s calendar, with an accompanying summer vacation. I began school the last week of August, and promptly received several invitations for day trips to the
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Culturing for Science Class: Apple Cider Vinegar

apple cider vinegar
  One day, I pulled a bottle of apple cider vinegar out of my kitchen cabinet (the kind that says “with the mother” on the label) and noticed that the small pieces of mother had formed into a solid that resembled a SCOBY. A SCOBY is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast that is
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Culturing for Science Class: Sourdough

sourdough
  Last fall, my son asked me if we could make homemade sourdough soft pretzels.  Since I gave my sourdough starter away a few years ago, I suggested that we try an experiment– creating our own. I have a recipe for starter in my favorite cookbook; here are the instructions we followed: In a large
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Nature Study: Starting Sweet Potato Slips with the Dirt Method

sweet potato slips
  I like to start sweet potato slips this time of year, as a nature study project.  Unlike many plants, which start from seeds, sweet potatoes grow new plants from eyes that emerge from the potato.  When our last frost date passed in the spring, we transplant the slips to our garden and grow our
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