Amy

Field Work Friday – Touring the Videri Chocolate Factory

July 18, 2014 by Amy

We recently had the opportunity to tour Videri Chocolate Factory in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We started out in the coffee shop area of the store. Our tour guide explained about the meaning of the name Videri, ‘to see’ in Latin, which explains the open layout of the factory. We also learned that Videri’s cacao beans come from four countries and are blended to create their own unique flavor.

Among her other responsibilities, our tour guide also sorts the beans by hand to remove any debris or bad beans that may have gotten mixed in the bag. This serves not only to protect the machines but also to improve the flavor of the finished product.

Sam, founder and developer of the Videri recipe, was roasting the beans as we walked past. This machine can roast several pounds at a time, which takes several hours. Fortunately for us, this batch was ready while we watched, and so we saw the beans empty from the drum. The kids were fascinated with this!

These are the only ingredients in Videri chocolate!

This is the winnowing machine. It separates the nibs from the shells by vacuum. The winnowing machine typically runs on Fridays.

The tempering machine helps the chocolate achieve the perfect texture and shine. This gives Videri’s chocolate a great snap! when you break each bar.

These handy dishes inside the winnowing room let the tourists see what the beans look like during each piece of the chocolate process.

Videri also wraps the finished product by hand.

The sea salt is my favorite! Pink peppercorn was very unique. I’ve never tasted anything like it before!

Didn’t they make our samples pretty?

I think this was our favorite part of the tour.

Videri Chocolate is open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday. The factory is open for tourists to wander through for self-guided tours, enjoy coffee in the new coffee shop, or spend some time on their patio outside. If you’re in the Raleigh area, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Have you ever seen chocolate being made?

Field Work Friday – Valentine’s Day

July 18, 2014 by Amy

This week we kicked back for a Valentine’s party. One of the other moms, a SAHM homeschooling mom who used to teach kindergarten, planned the party a did a fantastic job.

She decorated with balloons and crepe paper, and the kids LOVED it!

My Little Man had fun running with ‘the big boys,’ and this little one, too.

Writing is not exactly his favorite activity yet, but he enjoyed making valentine mail boxes out of paper plates when he could hang out with the other boys while doing so.

Stair steps!

When the balloon chasing got too noisy while some finished their mailboxes, everyone grabbed a book from a stack and read Valentine’s stories.

Then we moved back to the table for some learning fun. First they tried to see how many candy hearts they could build into a tower in only 30 seconds, which is actually quite difficult!

Then they made patterns with their hearts before devouring them and delivering their valentines.

Each family brought a treat to share, and My Little Man was happy to sample everyone’s sweets. He happily told his big sister that he had “goodies” at his party!

(We took these cake balls to share. Definitely an experience to make, and one that My Big Helper is already looking forward to making with me.)

In the midst of the balloon happiness and sugar rushes, our party planner also read 1 Corinthians to the kids and talked about graphing the things that love is and what it isn’t. Then she read Froggy’s First Kiss and the kids played “Pin the Lips on Froggy.” Too cute!

We had a blast at our Valentine’s celebration, and My Little Man keeps looking over and over his first ever valentine cards.

How did you celebrate Valentine’s?

Field Work Friday – Tai Kwon Do

July 18, 2014 by Amy

This week we were visited by Mr. Earl Fuller, of Earl Fuller’s Tai Kwon Do Center. He taught the kids the basic principles of the martial arts.

Since the term ‘martial arts’ means ‘the art of war,’ I was a bit worried about this one. I know very little about the martial arts except that they require extreme discipline and strength, and while I believe those are both great things to possess, I was a bit worried about introducing my very impressionable son to them.

Once again, I worried needlessly.

Mr. Fuller started out by explaining that the basic tenets of the martial arts are the same as those that govern all of life. He talked about the importance of goal setting and then moved on to stranger danger. He emphasized that the only time someone should use their martial arts skills are in times if immediate, physical danger – and when running away has not worked.

Mr. Fuller showed the kids six blocking techniques that they could use to stop people from touching or harming them in various ways.

The first, putting your hands up and facing out, means “Stop!”

Another, if someone is swinging at your head, involves ducking and turning from the waist.

Mr. Fuller showed that you should never try to stop someone reaching for your leg or foot with your hands, as this leaves your head exposed.

Instead, he recommended bringing up your knee to stop them.

Lastly, if someone is kicking down low at your feet or legs, simply jump up and over the attack.

Finally, Mr. Fuller spoke about the importance of exercise and proper nutrition.

I was very impressed with Mr. Fuller’s presentation. He gave the children information about martial arts techniques, but also gave them practical information that they can use every day. He was careful to emphasize the proper purpose of the martial arts and how they incorporate into everyday life.

If we ever decide that our children should have martial arts lessons, we will definitely go to Mr. Fuller. And if you’ve never considered it, check it out. Mr. Fuller even gives three free classes to people who want to try it!

Field Work Friday – Staunton River State Park

July 18, 2014 by Amy

Last week was gorgeous and we spent much of it outside. This week we’re suffering from extreme high heat and humidity here in the Carolinas – but Monday was an in-between kind of day. We knew the heat was coming, but the humidity hadn’t caught up yet. Enter: water fun.

We traveled to Staunton River State Park, which is about an hour north of us, and spent the day in their beautiful pools. With an Olympic-sized big pool, several water slides, and the largest kiddie pool I’ve ever seen, this is a GREAT place for families to come. It’s also the cleanest public pool I’ve ever visited. I like that a lot.

The pools have a few awesome features – like this foam froggy waterslide in the kiddie pool.

There’s also this tree-shaped “shower.”

The pool sports lots of these foam animals, that float and work for riding – if you’ve got good balance. Mine like to wrangle them like cowboys!

With a full day in the water, My Little Man and my Big Helper made big improvements in their water skills. Both got comfortable with going underwater, and both enjoyed the medium-sized water slide in the big pool (which I couldn’t take pictures of because I was too busy watching them). They were creative and brave and shared their toys and played with old friends and made new ones. Summer just has to include a few carefree water days like this one!

After a day of fun in the sun, we were all tired and hungry. We picnicked at tables beside the pool, but we stopped for a picnic-type simple supper on our way home – at Sheetz! This is the closest one to us, so our stop there was a treat.

We had a wonderful day in the water with our friends, relaxing and hanging out together. It was great to spend one last day outside before the humidity settled in, making being outside just plain yucky (at least to this Pennsylvania girl).

How are you beating the heat??

Field Work Friday – Stained Glass Windows

July 18, 2014 by Amy

We recently had the opportunity to learn about stained glass from a local artist. Always interested in the creation of this art, Dr. Saunders had taken a class years ago and made a workshop for himself. In the years since, he created stained glass windows for a local church and gifts for many. Our children – and their moms! – were excited to learn about this process.

Dr. Saunders showed us how he begins his work with a pattern. After planning the design, he must purchase the materials. At $12 per square foot, that’s not a light task. One must also take into consideration any accidents that may happen as each piece of glass could be a tinted a bit differently and therefore not match, making it important to have enough from the same batch for your current project before beginning.

After drawing a curvy line on a small piece of glass, Dr. Saunders showed us how to use a glass cutter to cut the piece. After tracing it with this tool, he used another tool which carefully separated the two pieces.

The children were curious about how the piece comes together. After explaining the soldering process, Dr. Saunders explained that the stained glass is like us – it isn’t beautiful until God’s light shines through it. To illustrate that idea and to allow them to see how the light affects each color, the group went to the window to check out the light streaming through this lighthouse window.

Afterwards Dr. Saunders let all of us look at some of his tools, and he answered many questions about the creation of stained glass.

My Big Helper was fascinated to learn that a perfect window is never set inside a church, as the only perfect thing there is God. Others were interested in seeing how the shapes could be put together to create pictures. My Little Man liked hearing about how the glass is colored from the addition of chemicals to the molten glass before cooling.

If you ever have the chance to explore this art further, check it out! Stained glass is beautiful. 🙂

Field Work Friday – Russia

July 18, 2014 by Amy

This week we vicariously traveled to Russia, via a fabulous native who is now a US citizen. She shared many stories of life in Russia.

Daily life is very different; one needs only to hear about the commonality of caviar and the sheer numbers of apartment buildings to know that. From school at night to a mile-deep lake, our guest’s information was fascinating.

My Little Man was particularly excited about the pictures and souvenirs. He liked looking at the writing in Russian inside her Russian passport, …

and he loved the nesting dolls. Known as a Russian item but coming originally from Japan, these dolls are hand-painted with special colors and flowers to indicate in which state they were created.

Aren’t they beautiful?

February 23rd is a Russian holiday – Military Appreciation Day, when parents and teachers give all males gifts to show their appreciation for military service. Even young boys who have not yet served receive presents for their future dedication to their country.

In honor of this holiday, our guest brought cupcakes decorated in the Russian national colors for the children to enjoy – and they did! The vast amount of icing on his cupcake amazed My Little Man. 🙂

Have you met anyone from another country lately?

Field Work Friday – Rogers Cattle Company

July 18, 2014 by Amy

Today we headed to Rogers Cattle Company to learn about raising animals for meat. Coming from a dairy farm background, I didn’t expect this type of animal raising to be very different from what I’m familiar with, but it was.

Sharon and Johnny Rogers are the operators and sole workers of this operation, and they went the extra mile to show us how their farm functions – they drove us in a haywagon! It was a great way to tour the farm and visit with the animals.

The ewes were neat. Knowing that it was their normal eating time, they came running to greet us. A type of sheep that shed their hair naturally, they closely resembled the few goats sharing their pen.

We just happened to visit this one mid-shed. I’ve never seen sheep that didn’t need to be sheared!

The rams seemed a bit antsy today. Perhaps, with the cooler weather, they knew that mating season will soon be arriving?

These young bulls were content to hang out under a large tree and watch us watching them. They seemed very calm and will not go out ‘dating’ for a while yet.

Of course, the heifers and the calves were my favorite.

Unfortunately, these are some of the animals that provide this farm with their livelihood – fresh beef. Mr. Rogers shared that in order to sell fresh meat, they had to be inspected by the Department of Agriculture and that the meat had to be processed in a USDA-approved facility.

The turkeys were another story. The first crop of turkeys for this farm, they arrived on site in mid-June and are growing quickly. Mr. Rogers farms with a type of plastic-polymer fencing that he moves around the farm to give the animals fresh pastureland. To keep the turkeys safe from predators, they remain inside their smaller enclosures except when there are people around.

They eat a type of crushed grain, which Mr. Rogers was happy to show us. The children decided that this was much like the chickens some of them have at home!

Immediately after commenting that the turkeys didn’t resemble the ones we typically see displayed at Thanksgiving, this one decided to strut his stuff. After puffing out those tail feathers, he took off across the pen. I couldn’t get a shot from any other angle!

These birds will be kept until early November, at which time they’ll be available for purchase.

At the conclusion of the tour, the children enjoyed digging in this large pile of rocks. Why buy toys – they need only sticks and stones to be happy!

Of course, seeing a few hundred farm animals makes their day, too.

For more information about Rogers Cattle Company or to order meat, visit their website.

Where do you purchase your meat? Have you ever gone straight to the source?

Field Work Friday – Pei Wei Asian Diner

July 18, 2014 by Amy

How do you cook good Asian food? This was a question that we really wanted answered as we worked our way through a recent Chinese unit. It became even more urgent as we realized that we were going to host a Chinese New Year party and had no idea how to make a good Chinese meal!

Fortunately, we knew where to go to find out. Pei Wei Asian Diner is one of our family’s favorite places to go for dinner. The food is good, healthy, and comes at you fast, but the best part is the open concept kitchen. If you’re lucky enough to sit at the bar/counter, you can watch the cooks preparing all of the food – and with the flames rising and the food flying, it makes quite the dinner show.

Fortunately for us, Pei Wei’s general manager was up to the challenge of teaching us – and about 25 of our friends. We headed out to crash their restaurant during their prep time one morning before opening.

The general manager, or GM, greeted us in the dining room and explained the format of our tour. Because most foods are cooked to order, the kitchen is very small, and we toured in small groups and rotated through.

Our group started here in ordering line. We learned about their computer system, the menus, and what happens if you order to eat in vs taking your food away.

Then we moved to the back. In the kitchen, we learned that there are two dedicated tasks. This is the protein man. His job is to prep all of the protein for the day. While we visited, he was carefully cleaning chicken and cutting it into pieces that were the right size and shape for stir-frying.

There’s also a dedicated spring roll woman. She also makes the rangoons and won-tons. Each one has to be the precise size and weight so that it cooks properly in the time allowed. The way that she could eyeball this was amazing!

We also visited the walk-in refrigerator. We learned that all of the produce is brought in daily, except for weekends, and that very few items arrive frozen. As many things as possible are prepped daily for the freshest food possible.

Aren’t all of these veggies beautiful? This is what goes into the stir fries and noodle bowls.

This is the cook’s set-up. It takes six months to learn how to be one of the line cooks! That’s an amazingly long time – but they have a very difficult job. Their woks range in temperature from 350 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and each dish cooks in minutes. Here the GM was explaining how they blanch the veggies prior to frying them so that they reach the perfect texture.

After the tour, the GM generously asked what we wanted to see cooked – and then this man made it for us while we watched. They even added several dishes, saying that there were so many of us that we needed more food to sample. Then they brought us plates, chopsticks, cups, fortune cookies, and the works for us to have a mini-party.

By then Pei Wei was open for lunch and, after sampling lots of yummy dishes, we ordered our meals and settled in to eat. Everything we tried was fantastic and the crew couldn’t have been more kind or generous.

We can’t wait to go back to Pei Wei – and maybe our own Asian cooking will be just a bit better from now on.

What’s your favorite ethnic cuisine?

Field Work Friday – The Oreo Olympics

July 18, 2014 by Amy

The Oreo Olympics are here! We spent a morning playing around with Oreos – and doing a lot of math, too. To do this activity, each family brought their own package of Oreos – or imitation Oreo cookies – to work with. Each pulled out a few to eat later, and the rest were used for this project.

We started out with Oreo towers. The kids assembled themselves into small groups and began working with their package of Oreos. The idea was to see who could create a tower using the most Oreos.

(I had issues with my camera that day – mainly because I forgot it – so I used my cell phone. I apologize for the blurriness.) First, the groups started stacking Oreos ….

but even the smallest ones quickly began to get creative with their towers.

A few people stuck with single towers …

Many others began to experiment with foundations to their towers.

The towers started to get wider …

and then taller …

and then even thicker as the groups began to find ways to incorporate more cookies into each tower. It was great to hear the kids counting their cookies over and over again (using one-to-one correspondence) and finding stopping places to begin later (counting on) and adding like towers (addition) and balancing cookies (symmetry and physics).

After finishing our towers, we used the cookies as a means of nonstandard measurement. Instead of measuring with rulers, we measured with cookies! This is easy for very young children to do and also encourages counting and one-to-one correspondence. This group didn’t quite have the same vision, so each child measured the length of the table going in a different direction!

Another group did the same thing. In the end, this is how their measurement looked.

Next we competed for the longest Oreo roll. This used more nonstandard measurement, because we used the floor tiles to determine how far each cookie went instead of inches or feet. One talented youngster rolled her cookie for a grand total of 21 tiles – and they weren’t tiny ones! (We did find that the REAL Oreos worked best for this part of the project. The generic ones were just too bumpy along the edges. Just a hint.)

And then, finally, we ate those cookies being held in reserve. One can only stand to be in a room smelling of Oreos for so long without eating them, you know? 😉

Other activities you could do with Oreos:
– write an “Ode to an Oreo”
– research the history of Oreos
– determine how long you are in Oreos
– determine how heavy you are in Oreos
– make “dirt” pudding
– write an original recipe using Oreos
– determine how many Oreos it would take to cover your desk/table
– write a fictional story about Oreoland

May the best Oreo Olympian win!

Field Work Friday – Old Salem Village

July 18, 2014 by Amy

Earlier this week we headed west to visit Old Salem Village, one of the first Moravian settlements in North Carolina. This now-restored village was established in 1766 and now reflects the lifestyle lived there from its inception through the Civil War era. The village is seven blocks long and three blocks wide, with lots of gardens, buildings to tour, and demonstrations to see.

Our first stop was in the gunsmith’s building. This man was carving the stock of a new gun they were building. This process was fascinating to watch!

Inside the tavern’s barn sat a man beside a pile of corn husks. He explained that the early Moravians stuffed their pillows with this material and allowed the children to tear up husks for stuffing. The barn itself was large and very sturdily built.

Our next visit was to the cider mill and press, located directly outside the barn. Here we learned how the two cylinders, made of wood, turned when the beam at the top was pulled, usually by a draft animal. The cylinders then squished the apples, allowing the juice to run out of the bottom for preservation. Next the apples were pressed in the cider press.

The Big Helper and My Little Man each took turns powering the cider press. They seemed to think this would be a great job to have back then!

The tavern itself was the local inn for travelers. George Washington stayed here and made a speech in 1791. This room, located on the second floor, was the dining area for the travelers and prevented people who might wander in from taking food. Since food and drink was the primary money maker for the inn’s owners, it was important that they take care in tracking their expenses here.

What’s an inn without beds? The kids were eager to check out this rope bed and stuffed mattress. They decided that they were most happy with their own modern beds!

Downstairs, in the main kitchen, a woman was baking breads with different grain combinations. She explained how poorer people couldn’t afford wheat flour and sometimes baked their breads with other, rougher grain combinations. She had samples of four different types to try. The wheat-rye kind that I tried was really good!

The kitchen looked like it must have been a very busy place then.

Many of the beds were very simple – almost cradle-like in structure – but this one was elegant and beautiful. My Big Helper particularly liked this one!

The Fire Engine House was a neat building. There were two small pumpers inside, and the kids were amazed to see a fire ‘truck’ without an engine. Seeing the horse stalls in the next section of the building was enlightening, as well.

While there was not much action to see in the tavern’s kitchen, the one in this house was hopping. The woman here was preparing a soup and a stew, as well as a few other dishes.

After her speech was over, she kindly showed us how her fireplace tools worked and shared more information about the peppers, carrots, cow beans, and leeks that she had cooked with that morning. We’d never heard of cow beans before!

In the doctor’s summer kitchen the children were invited to make sachets. They scooped two spoonfuls of dried lavender flowers into each prepared bag and tied it closed. They loved their sachets, and I loved they way they smelled for the rest of the day!

The next building over had costumed leaders showing how to play a Native American bean game. Both kids liked this, and it was great for counting practice. I think we’ll be playing this for school this semester!

I must admit that the Winkler Bakery was a highlight of our tour. The bakery is run by men who still mix everything by hand and bake their bread in a brick oven heated by a wood fire. My grandmother recommended the sugar cake, and we all agree – you can’t go wrong there. It was fabulous!

I can’t imagine baking 94 loaves of bread in this thing, but it’s still done today.

Many of the plants in the Misch House garden were nearing the end of their season, but the gardener was hard at work and kind to explain what each plant was. Taking care of this – and the two beds like it nearby – must have been a full-time job.

Inside, this woman had finished her cooking for the day and was cleaning butter. She explained that butter was salted to preserve it, but this left it inedible, so the women would put it in a bowl with fresh water and squish a knife all through it. After a while, they would pour off the water, and much of the salt would go with it. After doing this three or four times, the butter could be eaten.

This new oven was outside the Miksch House. I can’t imagine having to power this one!

This tailor was sewing a fancy cuff for a sleeve. He explained how tailors of the time would sit on a table by a window to work so that they had enough light. All sewing was done by hand and the clothing worn by everyone was quite formal compared with the clothes we wear today.

This woman is weaving a broom together. After growing the plant that produced straw-like stuff used for the bottom of the broom, it was cut, dried, and then soaked to make the top part pliable for weaving. Seven pieces were woven together to make the inner core for this broom, and then another 13 pieces were woven around this core to produce a big enough broom for use. Without a handle, this broom might have been used to clean the hearth after cooking. Adding a handle increased the expense and the time needed to finish the broom by about 50%. Brooms with handles would have been used to sweep wooden floors indoors.

The demonstrators had extra brooms so that the kids could try them out. Both of mine agreed that it’s easier to use a broom with a handle than this kind!

This nearby pump enthralled all the kids. I bet it was somewhat less fun when this was your best – and only – source of water, especially in the cold winter months.

These women worked together to make pumpkin fritters. They mixed pumpkin puree, cornmeal, eggs, milk, and salt until it was thick, then fried it in a spider (pan with three legs) over hot coals in butter. The women sprinkled cinnamon and sugar over the top.

The finished fritters were a bit bland but not bad, though my kids chose not to eat any more after their initial taste. Fritters of all kinds – apple, pumpkin, squash, carrot, etc. – would have been staples at this time, often eaten hot at the noon meal and then cold for supper.

I’m happy to have a bit more variety in our meals!

We had a really great time on this trip, both opening and closing the village. Neither the kids nor I were ready to leave at the end of the day. The actors were super polite and very kind, and they shared lots of neat information.

We learned lots of things that will translate beautifully to background information about life without electricity over the next few months as we learn about the Pilgrims and early life in America.

If you have never been to Old Salem in Winston-Salem, be sure to plan a trip. There are lots of special events coming up over the next few months, and it’s definitely worth your time!

What’s your most favorite field trip??