Thanks to Lynn from Homeschooling with Heart Yahoo group for sharing so many amazing ideas.

Thanks again to Lynn from Homeschooling with Heart for her awesome Colonial Ideas.

Colonial Cooking - Homemade Sausage
Food was one of the primary concerns for colonial and pioneer
families, it usually came after water and before shelter as a
priority. There were months on end that fresh food was unavailable
so
they needed methods for storing it. Meat preservation was sometimes
a
problem, you had to be very careful about it spoiling and making the
family ill. One of the ways that meat could be stored was by smoking
or canning it. And they used every scrap of the animal too! Small
scraps were usually used in sausage … why not try and make your
own?!
It's a great activity for the kids.
Sausage was a food served year round and not just for breakfast.
Wash
hands very thoroughly before and during this activity!

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground pork*
½ t. salt
½ t. ground black pepper
1 t. ground sage
1 t. fennel seeds

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. You will
probably have to use your hands.
2. Divide the mixture into patties of your preferred size … small to
large. This recipe should make about seven 4" patties.
3. In a skillet, cook patties over medium heat.
4. Cook about 4 minutes per side, brown and crisp.
5. IMPORTANT: don't make your sausage patties too thick and make
sure that are thoroughly cooked in the center.

Thanks to Lynn from homeschooling with heart yahoo group who has shared such awesome ideas.

Thanks to Lynn from Homeschooling with Heart for the wonderful ideas!

Coffee Dye
This is a nice rich, brown dye. Super easy to fix and even has a
nice
odor while the fabric is soaking.
Materials:

1 cup ground coffee
1 quart water
stove or heating source
large enamel or stainless steel (not aluminum) pot
study wooden or plastic stirring utensil
sieve
container to collect dye
material to dye

Directions:

1. Combine coffee and water in the pot.

2. Boil for 15 minutes.

3. Strain the mixture and discard the coffee grounds.

4. Add material to the dye.

5. Let the material soak in the dye until the desired color
intensity is reached.

Thanks to Lynn from the Homeschool With Heart Yahoo group for this wonderful colonial crafts.

This is a great project for making document replicas. Its just so
simple if little ones can get in on the activity. Make replicas of
the Constitution, old marriage licenses, old letters or land
records,
old diary entry, sea captain's log, make scrolls … the potential is
only as limited as your imagination.
Supplies:

your paper*
2 cups of fairly hot coffee or tea

Directions:

1. Pour the hot coffee or tea into a large bowl.

2. Crumple your paper item by wadding it into a ball.

3. Submerge the paper into the liquid.

4. Let stand until the liquid is cool.

5. Remove your paper from the liquid and let it dry. You can hang it
up or lay it on layers of old newspaper.

*This can be any of the items described in the entry, but treasure
maps, letters, etc. You can even use your own piece of recycled
paper for this activity.

Lynn from homeschooling with heart yahoo group has shared a lot of great Colonial crafts.

This is a super easy craft activity to include in a unit on
pioneering, home ec studies, depression era living skills, etc. The
powder laundry soap will set in about 15 minutes, but you will need
to allow it several days to completely harden.
Supplies:

1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup powdered laundry soap (not laundry detergent>
heating element
steel pan with lid
mixing spoon
waxed paper

Directions:

1. Mix the oil and soap together in the steel pan.

2. Allow this mixture to simmer for about 15 minutes with the lid
on.
Don't remove the lid during the 15 minutes.

3. Take the pan off of the heating element and let it cool.

4. When the pan and soap have cooled enough, you can shape the soap
with your hands or in molds.

5. Set the shaped soap on the waxed paper to completely dry. This
will take several days.

Thanks to Lynn from the Homeschooling with Heart Yahoo group for these challenging puzzles.

Mixed-Up U.S. Presidents: Part 2
by Michael Oksa
How many of these mixed-up U.S. Presidents can you figure out? Part
2
includes Presidents of the 20th century. The answers are at the
bottom of the page, you may have to scroll down to see them.
Remember, the number of words in a puzzle does not always match the
answer (ignore any punctuation, also). EXAMPLE: Don John's nylon =
Lyndon Johnson.

1) voodoo tree shelter

2) he grew bogus

3) I'm fat at will.

4) adrenal organ

5) solo window row

6) He bugs Gore.

7) Grand Rhine War

8) my metric jar

9) Can logic do evil?

10) red flag rod

11) throb over here

12) rid ox in ranch

13) servant in folklore

14) here's window eight

15) Ruth ran army
SCROLL DOWN FOR ANSWERS

1) Theodore Roosevelt

2) George W. Bush

3) William Taft

4) Ronald Reagan

5) Woodrow Wilson

6) George Bush

7) Warren Harding

8) Jimmy Carter

9) Calvin Coolidge

10) Gerald Ford

11) Herbert Hoover

12) Richard Nixon

13) Franklin Roosevelt

14) Dwight Eisenhower

15) Harry Truman

How many were you able to get? Just look at the chart below to see
how you compare.

15-13 correct: M.P. (Master of the Presidents)
12-10 correct: Vice Presidential material
9-7 correct : Good job
6-4 correct : You need to brush up a bit
3-1 correct : Better luck next time
0 correct : What were you thinking of anyway?

This was also shared by Lynn from Homeschooling with Heart.

Mixed-Up U.S. Presidents: Part 1
by Michael Oksa

How many of these mixed-up U.S. Presidents can you figure out? Part
1
includes Presidents of the 18th and 19th centuries. The answers are
at the bottom of the page, you may have to scroll down to see them.

Remember, the number of words in a puzzle does not always match the
answer. Ignore any punctuation, also.

EXAMPLE: jab ashcan menu = James Buchanan

1) hogging stoneware

2) Darn! Clever glove.

3) jam sent offshore

4) the rat crusher

5) second rank jaw

6) Here for Thursday

7) ban rum in tavern

8) tag sly nurses

9) merry Iranian hill show

10) Jon drowns a hen.

11) jolt henry

12) I'm an anchor ball.

13) plasm joke

14) mild molar filler

15) try a lazy roach

SCROLL DOWN FOR ANSWERS

1) George Washington

2) Grover Cleveland

3) Thomas Jefferson

4) Chester Arthur

5) Andrew Jackson

6) Rutherford Hayes

7) Martin Van Buren

8) Ulysses Grant

9) William Henry Harrison

10) Andrew Johnson

11) John Tyler

12) Abraham Lincoln

13) James Polk

14) Millard Fillmore

15) Zachary Taylor

How many were you able to get? Just look at the chart below to see
how you compare.

15-13 correct: M.P. (Master of the Presidents)
12-10 correct: Vice Presidential material
9-7 correct : Good job
6-4 correct : you need to brush up a bit
3-1 correct : Better luck next time
0 correct : What were you thinking of?

Looking for some projects and activities to go along with an Indian study? Try these:

1. Pretend that you are an Indian Chief. Make a list of ten good qualities that you would have to have to be a leader.

2. Draw an outline map of your state or province. Show which Indian tribes lived in this area and where they lived.

3. Make a model of an Indian dwelling. Find out why this dwelling was suited to the particular tribe's needs.

4. Research buffalo and why they were important to the Indians.

5. Learn an Indian song and sing it for your family.

6. Use a shoe box to make a scene representing your favorite Indian tribe.

7.  Collect pictures of various ways that Indians traveled and make a collage.

8.  Dress a doll as an Indian. Tell what tribe dressed in these clothes.

9.  Find an Indian recipe and try it with your family.

10.  Make any of the following: an Indian mask, a shield, a bow and arrow set, or a totem pole.

11. Get an American map and label all the tribes and where they lived.

12. Make a poster of Indian words and their meanings.

This is sung to "Yankee Doodle."

I love the name of Abraham,

we see him on our money,

His picture is on the $5.00 bill

and also on the penny.

Honest Abe is what he's called,

he was honest, kind, and true.

He was our 16th president,

he loved his country, too!

This is sung to "The Farmer in the Dell."

He was the 16th president,

he was the 16th president,

Abraham Lincoln was his name,

our 16th president.

He fought to end slavery,

he fought to end slavery,

Abe Lincoln was his name,

he fought to end slavery.

He loved his country,

he loved his country,

Abe Lincoln was his name,

he loved his country.

This is sung to "Bingo."

Mr. Lincoln was president,

he treated men with honr,

h-o-n-o-r, h-o-n-o-r, h-o-n-o-r,

he treated men with honor.

Here are sites to help you design your own Colonel Study.

Colonial Williamsburg has great online games and many activities. Click under kids: http://www.history.org/

Sail 1920 has information on the Mayflower and the Pilgrims. Click under students and teachers. http://www.sail1620.org/

The Home School Learning network has a free unit study about the Pilgrims. Click under free unit studies. http://www.homeschoollearning.com/

Here's a link to make a booklet about Jamestown: http://www.geocities.com/mamabrown_1122/sharedfiles/TOG2/jamestown-toptab-booklet-grammarlevel.pdf

Here is a link to make a flap book about Colonel Whaling and Fishing. http://www.geocities.com/mamabrown_1122/sharedfiles/TOG2/ColonialWhaling-Fishing-T-flap-fold.pdf

Here's a link to a sheet about the different classes of colonists: http://www.geocities.com/mamabrown_1122/sharedfiles/TOG2/classes-of-colonists.pdf

Here's a sheet which describes colonel homes and home building and gives you a pattern to make your own.  http://www.rootsweb.com/~mosmd/homes.htm

Oklahoma has six writing sheets about Pilgrims and Thanksgiving. Scroll down to writing paper. http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/forms.html

Plimouth Plantation has a kids section with recipes, crafts, and more. http://www.plimoth.org/

Enchanted Learning has maps, info, and quizzes about the 13 colonies. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/statesbw/13colonies/13colonies.shtml

Social studies for kids has a clickable map to give info about the original 13 colonies:
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/graphics/13mapnew.htm

Here is a webquest to discover what life would have been like as a pilgrim: http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/plymouth/

Lots of worksheets on Pilgrims and Thanksgiving can be found at ABC Teach: http://www.abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/thanksgiving/

Learn about how the geography of Virginia effected the early settlers and make foldable craft pages:
http://vastudies.pwnet.org/coolstuff/foldables.html

Lots of notebooking pages, worksheets, etc. here:
http://highland.hitcho.com.au

A free pilgrim lapbook is available here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LiveAndLearnPress/

Homeschool in the Woods has a free model replica of Jamestown to download: http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/

At Wowio you can download for free the book: Great Colonial American Projects You Can Build Yourself. Click under "children" and then under "history"  http://www.wowio.com

This is sung to "Turkey in the Straw."

Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Indianapolis, Indiana;
And Columbus is the capital of Ohio
There's Montgomery, Alabama south of Helena, Montana
Then there's Denver, Colorado under Boise, Idaho.

Texas has Austin, then we go north toMassachusetts,
Boston; and Albany, New YorkTallahassee,
Florida; and Washington, D.C.
Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Nashville, Tennessee
(Elvis used to hang out there a lot, ya know)

Trenton's in New Jersey north of Jefferson, Missouri
You got Richmond in Virginia, South Dakota has Pierre
Harrisburg's in Pennsylvania and Augusta's up in Maine
And here is Providence, Rhode Island next to Dover, Delaware.

Concord, New Hampshire, just a quick jaunt to
Montpelier which is up in Vermont
Hartford's in Connecticut, so pretty in the fall
And Kansas has Topeka, Minnesota has St. Paul

Juneau's in Alaska and there's Lincoln in Nebraska
And it's Raleigh out in North Carolina

And then there's Madison, Wisconsin and Olympia in Washington
Phoenix, Arizona and Lansing, Michigan

Here's Honolulu, Hawaii's a joy
Jackson, Mississippi and Springfield, Illinois
South Carolina with Columbia down the way
And Annapolis in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay
(They have wonderful clam chowder.)

Cheyenne is in Wyoming and perhaps you make your home in
Salt Lake City out in Utah where the buffalo roam
Atlanta's down in Georgia and there's Bismarck, North Dakota
And you can live in Frankfort in your old Kentucky home.

Salem in Oregon, from there we join
Little Rock in Arkansas, Iowa's got Des Moines
Sacramento, California; Oklahoma and its city
Charleston, West Virginia and Nevada, Carson City.

That's all the capitals there are!

Interested in researching the history of your state or others? Try these resources.

This site has all state symbols and facts for each of the 50 states.  Fifty States Com-- http://www.50states.com/

Everything you could ever need to make a state report can be found at Class Brain. Look under "projects and reports."  http://www.classbrain.com/

Need info about state animals? Find it at State Animals Com.  http://www.stateanimal.com

Info Please has an US almanac.  http://www.infoplease.com/us.html

Enchanted learning has facts, maps, and quizzes for each state.  http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/

Fact Monster has trivia, maps, games, quizzes and more.  http://www.factmonster.com/states.html

ABC Teach has a state theme unit for each state.  http://www.abcteach.com/States/StateTOC.htm

Explore the States at America's Story.  http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es

Atlapedia has full color maps of the US and other countries. http://www.atlapedia.com/

Find information about the regions of the US here: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/rrhtml/regdef.html

US Regions information can also be found here: http://users.tellurian.com/teach/regions/

 Kid Zone has information on the goegraphy of the US: http://www.kidzone.ws/geography/usa/

TSL Books has several geography worksheets: http://www.tlsbooks.com/geographyworksheets.htm

Crayola has coloring pages for each of the states: http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/learn/states/

State Study Units can be signed up for here: http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjgeog/a/susindex.htm

Your child learns has downloadable maps.  http://www.yourchildlearns.com

Shephard Software has free map games to play online.  http://www.shephardsoftware.com

Online Geography Knowledge Quizzes can be found here (for US and for other countries): Lizard Point http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/

Here are resources to make your own President's Day study.

Here is a site that contains coloring pages for each of the presidents. http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/presidentsday/color/index.html

This site has a timeline of all the presidents and first ladies. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/odmdhtml/pptime.html

This site includes biography information about each president, as well as many facts and details about his time in office. http://www.ipl.org/div/potus/

Find out all the information you ever wanted to know about each president here: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/presday1.html

Worksheets:

A coloring book of the presidents and a word search can be found here: http://www.tlsbooks.com/historyworksheets.htm

Venn diagram to compare Lincoln and Washington: http://www.abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/February/venn.htm

Word search for Lincoln: http://www.abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/February/lincoln1.htm
Word search for Washington: http://www.abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/February/washington1.htm

Worksheet on Mount Rushmore: http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/soc_studies/president/rushmore/

Other fun ideas:  make a mini report and poster on the history of the White House,  make a poster on your favorite president or first lady,  make up a song about the names of the presidents.

Sung to the tune "Ten Little Indians."

Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison
Monroe, Quincy Adams, Jackson, Van Buren,
Harrison, Tyler, Polk and Taylor,
Filmore, Pierce, Buchanan.

Lincoln, Johnson, Grant and Hayes,
Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, Harrison,
McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson.
Harding, Coolidge, Hoover.

Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy,
Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter.
Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush.

(The only problem with this song is you have to change it a bit to accomodate more presidents.)

Interested in studying the Revolutionary War? Here's some resources to help.

Timeline of revolutionary war: http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/vme/vo/

Interactive Games and Resources: http://www.libertyskids.com/

Vocabulary words for your study: http://www.fcps.edu/McNairES/revwarvocab.doc

Free Copywork book:
George Washington Rules of Civility copywork: http://www.donnayoung.org/penmanship

All about Paul Revere (plus activities)
http://www.cvesd.k12.ca.us/finney/paulvm/paulvm.html&original

Lots of worksheets and hands-on activities can be found here: http://highland.hitcho.com.au/

You can find thematic writing paper for the Revolutionary War here:  http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/forms.html

Mapping Project of the Revolutionary War battles: http://socialstudies.com/c/@hLz2rHUJsxIGc/Pages/article.html?article@SHL173     http://socialstudies.com/c/article.html?article@SHL173A+s@_xSiJelrvPt1U

Lesson Plans and Quizzes about the Revolutionary War:  http://www.mce.k12tn.net/revolutionary_war/american_revolution.htm

Women's Roles during the Revolutionary War: http://www.ilstu.edu/~jabraun/students/schultz/revwarwomen.htm

Go to this site for free lapbooks about the United States Flag, the United States Constitution, George Washington, and the Boston Tea Party:  http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/lapbooks.htm

Here's a cute "extra" for a revolutionary war unit. At this site you can read a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the signers names. Then you can add your name in a script of your choice and print off a copy.

http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declarationjointhesigners.html