2014 Year End Part 2

Just in time for the New Year the last 6 months of Garden 118! 

I hope you all enjoy and have a safe and wonderful New Year!

I pray that next year will be full of new and exciting things!

2014 - What a Fun Year!

What a fun year this has been!

I, myself & all of us as a family accomplished so much this year and we are grateful to all of our friends and family who supported us through everything!

Here is a very small glimpse of the first 6 months of Garden 118 & our life here on our

suburban farm in 2014, enjoy!

Well there you have it the first 6 months we have spent working on getting Garden 118 up and running. A lot more has happened since June. I will update you all with the next 6 months later this week, there will be surprises, a glimpse of what is happening now, and where we are headed in the next year.

Thank you for stopping by & Happy  2015!

Christmas Crafts and Homemade Gifts

This year I have really focused on handmade gifts for our kids, family, and friends. I love getting creative. This year I tried a few new things and also made my usual food gifts (these do change every year but I always make some sort of food gift for everyone).

This year the kids and I did shrinky dinks and made some jewelry. I made the Eloise necklace for myself, a Frozen necklace for Allison and Emmett from The Lego Movie for Scotty as a zipper pull. We also made various charms and ornaments. This was very easy. We used #6 plastic, preheated the oven to 350* and baked for just a bit, they curl then lay flat and then they are done. Watch them carefully, you don't want to over cook them :)

The food gifts were fun! I made Italian Giardeniera, Dill Cheesy Crackers, and Chocolate Fudge. All really easy, the veggies took me only and hour after dinner one night and I ended up with 11 jars. The dill crackers are Cheez-its are coated with a mixture of dill and garlic powder and olive oil then baked slightly. Last we have fudge, everyone has there favorite and it always makes a ton! I also add some of my soap.

I didn't mess around with making my traditional soap since I packed most of the stuff away in the attic, but I found some melt & pour soap base (totally cheated here)that I really liked and just added some goodies to it. I created Coffee Vanilla, Lavender Flower, and Sweet Almond Oatmeal.

This is also a first this year. I made some earrings. I have kept all the rose ones for myself in various colors, but the dahlias were too big for my lobes so I am packaging them up and giving as gifts! They are so beautiful and I chose really brilliant colors so the earrings will brighten a dreary winter day.

Do you make your own gifts? What are your family favorites?  

Coral Reef Unit Study & Lapbook

We had been struggling with keeping Allison interested in the science curriculum that we were given which was Harcourt Science 1st grade. The book and worksheets were a lot of things we had already studied in kindergarten and over the summer. So taking advice from my friend Mrs. Moser, I decided to try unit studies!

This is our first attempt at a unit study. I chose to focus on a subject that she is really interested in and go from there.

I have to say it is a lot more work, finding the information, studying the information myself (so I know what I am talking about), and creating worksheets and projects. Lucky for me there is a lot of resources for homeschoolers on the web and I will share one here with you! 

Our subject for the last 2 weeks has been coral reefs. We started learning about coral reefs and what they were. This really beautiful and well put together lapbook on coral reefs is so fun to do!

It turned out wonderful. I helped her to cut and glue the pieces, but she was responsible for coloring and writing all the information about the types of coral, the fish, reptiles, and turtles that lived there, the types of reefs there are, and what they are made of. It is all provided on the website. You can fin the lapbook at Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. 

After we finished the lapbook we decided to study more about oceans so we made a tide pool to study the rise and fall of ocean water. 

We also made an ocean in a jar. We filled the jar with sand from our vacation and shells we had collected. Then we filled them with water. This was a huge hit with the two of them and with me too! Everytime you shake the jar you find a new shell and you can see how ocean waves move the sand and shells around and toss them about.

A few close up of the inside of the bottle. It really is calming to sit and rock the water back and forth and see what appears next.

I also added a few episodes of the Magic School Bus. The first one we watched was about coral reefs and how they are made and they other was about mussels. Both were really fun and I have always loved Miss Frizzle & Liz!

This unit study was fun and Allison & Scotty really got into learning especially with the hands on activites. All around this was a really great start to our Science Unit Study curriculum!

Do you use lapbook or unit studies? What were some of your kids or your favorites?

Let me know by leaving me a comment!

So Many New Changes

I have to say a lot has happened in the last three months that it has felt like a whirl wind around here!

I must admit that I really didn't expect everything to happen all at once but God has a way of making things happen as he sees fit so I just go with the flow no matter the difficulties that may lie ahead, he will see us through them.

We were given the opportunity to school our children which has been a blessing, but WOW, there is a learning curve here! I am glad I have a great support group of friends & family.

We opened a business that I work part time for and am owner of (Scott's Glass & Fabrication). I absolutely love having a family business and we hope to make it successful enough so we can keep our people employed and to make enough to live & give.

I am also trying to get Garden 118 up & running again. I love sharing my little suburban farm and spending time with the families who come to stay a while. We are working on a few new projects around here including duckponics for non edible people plants. We have finished the grey water system just in time for the rainy season and I feel like I have put up a thousand jars of goodies for the winter!

Even though I am busy, I am so very blessed to have been given these opportunities. It does change so many things but as I have said, God leads the way he feels is best for us and never gives us more than we can handle!

Garden 118 Halloween Party

Just a reminder that this Wednesday October 29th  3pm - 4pm we will be having a special Garden 118 Halloween Party!!!

There will be treats, games, a seed saving station and a  pumpkin learning station! Come join us for this fun 1 hour class and dress up as your favorite farm character (nothing scary or gory).

If you have any questions or want to join us leave a comment or email me!

Hope to see you all there!

Seed Saving Class

Today was all about saving seeds from your summer harvest!

We explored the garden and collected marigolds & basil. I had already had corn, sunflower, pumpkin ready for when the kids arrived.

After I showed them how to harvest the seeds we crafted seed packets for them to take their seeds home in.

We talked about the seed lending library at the Chico branch of the library. You can check out seeds then bring them back after harvest. Fun way of sharing seeds that you know grow well in our area!

We also discussed the reasons to save seeds the easiest seeds to save, and the more difficult ones, too.

The kids also got to feed the chickens sunflower seeds (a favorite of the birds) and chase the ducks.

The seed packets are from You Grow Girl . It is a great source for information on seeds, storing them, harvesting, and preserving. Also a great resource for canning, gardening, crafting (what I do, but on a much bigger scale :)

Thank you all for attending and hope to see you at the next class or two!

Dragonflies have a Purpose in the Garden!

A few weeks ago, when the weather turned cloudy and cold, the kids found this dragonfly hanging around in the ivy. 

We decided to learn about dragonflies! And what better way than having one right outside our front door.

lovely wings

I never knew much about dragonflies or really what their purpose was in the garden except to make it pretty in the late afternoon. So off to the books we headed to find out.

They have eyes that are made up of about 30,000 facets

Dragonflies eat mosquitoes and other small bugs. Their job in the garden and around your home is to keep the mosquito population in check. But they have to watch out for birds and lizards. They love to snack on these garden beauties.

Dragonflies have been around for about 300 million years...amazing

They lay eggs in fresh water ponds and streams and stay in the water eating small fish and even tadpoles while they are babies. They stay babies for up to 2 years depending on species. Unfortunately the adult dragon flies only live for a few weeks.

More facts and activities can be found here easyscienceforkids.com (search for dragonfly).

A fun activity to try is making a dragonfly habitat or garden. Maybe this spring or summer we will give it a try! How about you?

October Class Schedule

As promised I have put together a schedule for the month of October. Now that we have established some sort of routine and can now slow down and enjoy garden classes again!

I am SO excited about this. I first have to say that I got my inspiration from an article I read in Bon Appetite magazine. Based on that article I am offering 2 hands on gardening classes and one cooking class a month.

The gardening classes are free but the cooking class is going to cost a small fee for materials and food. And mom's stay tuned for MOM's only cooking classes where we can learn a few more lunch ideas, dinner menus, and just some mom time (a fee will apply for materials and wine;)

I do have to get a little more strict with the sign ups due to space limitations. Please let me know if you will be attending any or all the classes with either an email, comment on the blog, or comment on facebook with how many are attending so I can pencil in your spot. Also payment will be due at the time of class on the cooking days or any other classes that are offered for a fee.

This round of classes are going to be super awesome!!!!

October Schedule of Classes

Tuesday October 14th from 10-11:30 will be Seed Saving - have fun collecting seeds to keep and plant in the spring!

Saturday October 25th from 10:30 - 12:00 will be our first ever COOKING CLASS! We will be making 2 variations of pizza, then we will sit down and enjoy our creations with one another! The fee for this class is $3.00 per child (adults are free) which includes food and material costs.

glass gem corn

Wednesday October 29th from 3:00 - 4:00 pm will be our first annual Halloween party!!! We will learn about pumpkins, fall planting/winter gardening. Come dressed in your costume, if you want and enjoy some tricks and treats! (donations of cookies or candy would be appreciated but are not necessary).

I can't wait to see all of you this October and don't for get to sign up for one or all of the classes!

Learning About Ladybugs!

We have officially started homeschooling and let me tell you the learning never stops around here! Just last week the Crepe Mertle Trees began sapping and you know what that means?

LADYBUGS!!!

They love to lay their eggs on the sappy trees so I get to share with you what we have witnessed the first week of fall.

I photographed the following photos over a 2 day period documenting the life cycle of ladybugs, it is amazing!

Ladybug eggs are tiny, smaller than a pin head.

The ladybugs lay them in clusters

just hatched larva are quite plain

a larger larva getting ready for the next stage in becoming a ladybug, notice the beautiful orange color it has grown

the pupa looks much like an adult ladybug!

this side view, if you notice, the larva bristles slightly in view where it is attached to the tree

An adult ladybug!

A couple more, notice the color difference, younger ladybugs do not have spots.

from a tiny yellow egg into a beautiful form of pest control

Ladybugs are a great natural aphid killer. These photos were taken in a two day period of several different stages of a ladybugs life. A typical life cycle of a ladybug is between 3 - 4 weeks depending on weather. Eggs hatch in 3 - 5 days, the larva will eat aphids and other bugs for up to three weeks, then pupate which takes about a week.

Hope you enjoyed & I would love to hear what you think about my ladybug life cycle, so leave me a comment!

I would also like to note I should have the final schedule for Garden 118 Ready by the end of the week and will be posting it to Facebook. I have a whole new idea which I adapted from an issue of Bon Appetite Magazine and a few new classes to add for Moms to enjoy!

Indian Runners - Our Newest Family Members

Today we headed to the feed store for more bedding and feed for the chickens and the most spoiled crested pekins.

The kids and I headed out to look at the chickens and other birds they carry when we spotted two little Indian Runner ducklings. 

We have been wanting Indian Runners for their benefits to the garden and the farmer. These little darlings were so shy and skittish when they arrived at out home this afternoon.

We set up the brooder, gave them  fresh food and water, then let them relax for a bit to get used to new surroundings.

Later we took them outside for a supervised visit with the pekins (boy did those girls get MAD at the little ducklings. I swear Flippy Floppy refused to come out of her house while the ducklings were out.)

We are just smitten with these little cuties. And we finally named them, meet

Jean Claude and Dolph (a reference to Universal Soldier since the ducklings resemble soldiers when they walk...totally geeky I know, but we tend to lots of geeky, nerdy things around here)

Have any of you raised Indian Runners? Any tips or advise for us, we would love to here from you. Leave a comment below.