Week 1 of School: Celebrating the Sabbath

This past Monday, we began our first day of our 7th year of homeschooling. Here's a few pics from our first day...

Mackenzie, 12 years old

Abby, 10 years old

The best part about starting a new school year!

I paid her to say that ;-)

It's only been a week, but we are really loving our curriculum so far - My Father's World: Creation to the Greeks. This week, we've been reading from a book called "Celebrate the Feasts" and have been learning about observing the Sabbath. We did activities all week to prepare for our meal which we celebrated last night.

We made candles - one for each person in our family and one for our future adopted child ;-)  "All of the flames, although they are separate, share the same source, symbolic of the family depending on God for strength and life."

We made challah coverings...

(After you let the glue dry, you paint the covering with watered down paint. I forgot to take a picture of that step! Let the paint dry thoroughly then saturate it in a bowl full of warm water. This loosens the glue so you can peel it off, leaving white space where the glue was. Hang your covering to dry then it's ready for use!)

We made a jar of spices. Love this recipe & it makes your house smell so good!

Ingredients:
1 c. sugar
1 T. grated orange peel
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cardamon (we didn't have this spice so we left it out)
1/8 t. ginger

Directions:
Heat oven to 200 degrees. Mix all ingredients in 8" x 8" pan. Heat in oven, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Cool pan on wire rack. Pour cooled sugar into blender. Blend on low speed until sugar is fine. Store in tightly covered jar in cool, dry place. Use to sweeten applesauce, fresh apples, or sprinkle on pancakes, waffles or french toast after you have enjoyed it's fragrance at Havdalah. You might also like to try it as a sweetener in your coffee or in a cup of tea. (Personal note: I used mine in hot apple cider and added it to my breakfast oatmeal - yummy!!!)

We made Challah bread...

Ingredients:
2 pkgs. dry yeast
2 c. warm water
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. oil
4 t. salt
3 eggs, slightly beaten
7 1/2 c. flour

Directions:
Take a large bowl and pour in 2 cups warm water. Take your time testing to make sure it is warm, not hot, lukewarm, or cold. Soften the yeast in the water. Add sugar, oil, and salt. Blend in the eggs (reserve 1 T. of egg white for brushing). Add 3 cups flour - beat well to avoid lumps. Let it rest about 5 minutes. Gradually add the rest of the flour (4 1/2 cups). Oil the table or board you will use and your hands and knead the dough about 10 minutes.

Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place. Let rise about 1 1/2 hours. Shape. Braid on cookie sheet. Brush top with egg. Let raise one hour. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes. Tap the bottom of each loaf. When there is a hollow sound, the bread is done. (This recipe makes 2 very large loaves.)

Abby, made streusel cake for dessert and set the table for our feast...

We only did a fraction of the activities that they suggest in the book but having gone through the preparations that we did sure made us appreciate the meanings behind the rituals and it made learning fun!

Shabbat Shalom!