Woodwater Farmhouse

This week was another busy, but fun one!  We apple picked last Sunday after church with cousins. Always a fun time at the orchard.  We live in the Hudson Valley of NY (about an hour North of NYC) and there are quite a few orchards in our area.  We always go to the same orchard and the children have known this as an annual tradition in our family. Last Friday, Molly was recognized for her entry into the Sustainable Warwick poster contest.  She created a poster trying to persuade people to do away with plastic bags and bring their own fabric bags to the store.  It was a nice reception and nice to see her honored for her effort s. Her poster is at the bottom right next to her.  She was very proud!  As were all her family! Public schools were off from school on Wednesday to observe the Jewish holiday.  We invited a few friends over to stay the night and hang out with us.  The girls put on a fashion show and painted so...

Coming at you today with a quick 10 minute Craft.  Love to decorate for all seasons in the home.  This is one the kids will enjoy and can even help out making.  Counting down to the end of any month can be fun for kids!   (not to mention different ways to sneak in some Math for school!)  Using an old frame that I had hanging around (it's real inexpensive) , some Washi tape and a countdown FREE downloaded print .  I used this one from LollyJane, but Pinterest has a ton of them for free downloads.  I used the piece of paper that came in the frame (afterall, I will just be changing it out come November anyway) , I taped the coundown calendar to it using some decorative Washi Tape.  Then to decorate the raw wood (thought about painting it, but changing the color scheme to fit the month is easier with the Washi Tape) I ran some tape down each side.  Put it all back together and there you go!  Grab a d...

Tis the season for all things pumpkin and apple. Apple picking is a family tradition for us. Sadly none of our children like applesauce, apple pie or apple crisp. They are more just plain old apple kids. I wanted to make some sort of treat using the apples we picked at the orchard.     Trying to come up with some fall-like creative snack ideas for the children can be a task.  Here is a quick healthier version of the traditional candy apple.  Using Macintosh apples, organic honey and organic graham crackers you can create a fun and healthy snack for after school.   You will need some sort of stick in the center of your apple.   Dipping each apple into a plate of honey, rolling it around and getting is nice and sticky.   Then smash up (the kids can help with this one) the graham crackers in a sealed baggie.  Next roll the honey coated apples into the smashed up cracker mix.  Let them set up on some par...

Happy Fall Friday Y'all I know it's not officially fall yet, however, all the signs are pointing towards it being fall soon.  Loving the mornings with cool crisp air!   This week has been a busy one, as they all have lately .  Last Sunday was Grandparents Day and I treated my mom (aka Bubby) to a day in the city (aka NYC) with a Broadway show.   The costumes, music and general hum of the theater was enough to take your breathe away.  We had dinner at a great little Irish Pub - Connelly's Pub (Times Square location).     We live an hour north of NYC and we rarely get a chance to go in and enjoy The Big Apple.   The local farmers market is in full swing with crisp delicious veggies, baked goods, organic beef, eggs, raw honey and more... More signs that fall is knocking on our door.  Pictures from around our town.  In school.... Zachary just completed the week long IOWA test ...

Football isn't just for the boys ya know.... I might not be a HUGE football fan, but I am a FAN of a great gathering and whooping it up!  Using my Silhouette Cameo I transformed these plastic cups for the girls and decorated the wine glasses for the ladies.   Add some fun food and put the game on and you're ready to PARTAY!  To view some of the other Football themed parties and ideas on The Joys of Home Educating click on over.  What's your favorite NFL team?   We have a New Orleans Saints fan in the house and the rest are Minnesota Vikings fans and they have a good feeling about the season this year!  GO TEAM!

Remembering today those people who lost their lives 14 years ago.   #911neverforget We are SO hanging on to summer here at The Joys of Home Educating .   If you have been a blog follower for a while you know that each year I take the children to The Jersey Shore (#jerseystrong) at the end of the summer.  We USUALLY go the week after Labor Day because, duh, the crowds are far less. This year, since Labor Day was late, we went the week OF!  gasp, I know! We were pleasantly surprised that it was not THAT busy.  We enjoyed the ocean, boardwalk, ice cream, mini golf, dinners out, hotel pool and most of all, DADDY went with us this year!  A first!  A great time was had by all!  As soon as we got back, we hosted our Newell Family Backyard Campout (it had been since 2012 since our last one)  Seven families came, pitched their tent, shared a meal, bonfire and sang songs with us.  The children were up until the wee h...

The NEW Chocolate Chip Cookie With all the gardens in full bloom, we have friends that are blessing us with their overflow  (thank you friends) . Zucchini seems to be the veggie of choice lately.  I wanted to use up some of the large greens ones before they went bad.   Looking through countless recipes on Pinterest using zucchini, I came across this one.  Zucchini Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies WHAT?  A CC Cookie with Zucchini - could it be true? I am here to say YES friends you can have your veggie and cookie all in one! They were light and cake like.  I loved the little hint of cinnamon in them and the fact that they have oats makes it a win win in our home.   These are now my go-to cookie for the summer season!  Hoping to freeze a batch too so I can bring these babies out in the fall! Until Next Time - Be Blessed! Linking to: Hearts for Home Blog Hop

As the summer months wrap up this month, we are doing our best to soak up the last few weeks of summer. We still have a camping trip left...a few playdates scheduled and some "down time" before we start back "full time" to home school.   We do school in the summer at least 1 thing every day, but not nearly the work load as we do Oct - July.  Hope your summer was filled with precious memories! Huzzah to your new school year!  On another note - after taking 6 months off of social media - I am back on Instagram!  I would love for you to come on over and follow me 8)   You can find me at   @mel0293 Until next time - be blessed!