More Organizing — Homeschool Notebook
After making the Household Notebook, I realized what a help it would be to have a Homeschool Notebook. This notebook isn’t done yet, but I’ve got it basically functioning.
Up to now, I have been following a different curriculum schedule for each of the kids — for science, history, Bible, read alouds, math and language arts. We didn’t have any one place to keep track of we did each day for school. The goal of the Homeschool Notebook is to give us one place us to keep track of what we accomplish each day.
There is a section for what we all do together — Bible, History, Read Alouds and Science. Then each child has a section where we write down daily assignments in Language Arts (spelling, handwriting, phonics, reading, grammar, etc.) and Math.
In the fall, I plan to add one more section to detail the curriculum plan for the year. It will list what books & resources each child will be using in each subject. It is a little too late to do that for the school year we are wrapping up.
Your notebook entries have me motivated, Wardeh!
As soon as I get some more headway on my house w/boxes, I’m starting mine again. I will be curious to hear how your HS one helps out.
And, I bet your garden is going to show a big improvement now! Have you read about comfrey leaves and comfrey tea for your garden? It’s supposed to be a great organic fertilizer also, plus it’s an invasive plant that you rarely can kill. Next summer, when I put in our gardens, I hope to give it a try!
Blessings,
Beth Ann
Beth Ann, I’m sure it must be very hard to accomplish all the things you have in mind when you’re transitioning into a new house. We’ve been there a few times and I know how it feels to have to put projects off when you’re itching to get your hands working
I have never heard of comfrey tea before. There is a Middle Eastern meal that my family loves using dried comfrey, lemon, garlic, lamb meat and rice — but I never thought it could be good for the garden!
Love, Wardeh
Wardeh,
Hi. I’ve been admiring your wool creations for a long time, on Covered Caboose. I clicked over here to see what else you’ve made. Is the lamb dish you’re talking about called, and I’m going to spell it phonetically as I understand it, “cupsah” or “kepsah”? If so, can you give the recipe? My sister was married to a Berber from Tunisia, and that was a dish she learned to make. I LOVE it, but I didn’t know what the green was, and she only knew what her husband called it in Arabic. If ubiquitous comfrey was the secret ingredient, that would just beat all! I also really miss harissa. I would love a good recipe for that!
Julie,
Hi! Thank you so much for your kind words. I just love the wool from Covered Caboose! It’s fantastic, isn’t it?
Now I don’t know what lamb dish you’re referring to that I’ve mentioned. I have a recipe for lamb ragout and that definitely doesn’t have comfrey. Oh, I see now, I mentioned it in these comments!
The name of that dish is — get ready now — Mulukhiyyah (pronounced mul-hkee-hee). I’ve found so often that the Arabic dishes I know vary in names throughout the Middle East/Asia/Africa, so this very well could be the same dish. Here’s the recipe: Mulukhiyyah. I posted it on my recipe/kitchen site just for you!
The harissa recipe, that is one of my favorites! I have never figured out a recipe for it that doesn’t use white sugar, so here’s the “real” recipe. Hope all this helps! Love, Wardeh
Harissi (that’s how we say it)
by Martha Bisharat, my mom
Syrup (Attar):
4 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon mezaher (rose water)
1 tablespoon lemon
Cake:
4 cups farina
2 cups milk
2 cups sugar
1 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon heaping baking soda
slivered almonds
Boil all syrup ingredients until the solution becomes a little heavy and syrupy. Let cool.
Mix all cake ingredients (except slivered almonds). Grease an 8-1/2 by 11 inch pan with tahini oil. Pour cake batter into pan. Let rest for 1 hour.
Bake for 15 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven, until golden brown.
After baking, cut harissi into diamond shapes (right in the pan) and decorate each piece with a slivered almond. Pour up to 1 cup of the syrup over the harissi. When cool, pour 1 cup more over the harissi. Cover with foil and store in the refrigerator.
Fancier Harissi
Version 1: Add coconut flakes to the batter.
Version 2: Double or triple the cake batter. Then make a filling by mixing well — 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon rose water and a pound of chopped walnuts. Pour half the batter in the pan, top it with the walnut filling and then cover with the remaining batter. Then bake and drench with syrup as usual.