Ah, there’s nothing like talking curriculum in July. It’s my favorite month to talk about the technical side of homeschooling because it is all so exciting.

• We got two packages in the mail last week which set my children to begging for “Just one lesson mom? Please?”
• I just spent two hours punching apart little cards with my daughter as she asked questions and sounded genuinely interested. In spelling!
• We have a stack of school supplies divided amongst four crates, our new organizational tool for this year. And the children can’t stop looking at them and through them and wondering what treasures they contain as they beg, “Just one lesson mom? Please?”
• And yet more stuff will continue to trickle in over the next few weeks as we near the magic start date marked on my imaginary calendar: August 23, 2010.

It’s all so exciting, and it’s all so perfect. Because my plans for the year always work on paper. The children always love the fruits of my labors and never quarrel and never storm off in the middle of lessons until we actually begin doing lessons.

And I need all the excitement I can get. Truth be told, I’ve had a little difficulty mustering enthusiasm for the coming school year because it represents a major shift in how we do things, one that sort of feels more like giving up than moving forward. Well, at least until some online friends and I decided to leap into this thing together, but more on that later.

See, up until now, I’ve always written my own curriculum for everything but math. The Internet, library and occasional Amazon purchases have been the staple of our homeschool diet, and I rather enjoyed the creativity, learning and control that gave our family over what we were learning, how and when. But then we moved. To five acres in the country. I have a growing flock of chickens to tend to. And geese. And now ducks even. I have a 3000 square foot garden. And I’m expecting number 6 in November.

Something had to give. And I decided it was planning. One of my favorite parts of homeschooling, to be sure, but also the most time consuming. So now we’re chaining ourselves to someone else’s plans, someone else’s goals, someone else’s ideas of which ideas in history are worth lingering over and just how long we should linger there. This year’s line up:

For Bible: Walking With Jesus. This has actually been sitting on my bookshelf for two years. It looks really good. I just have a lot of stuff that looks really good.

For Spelling: All About Spelling. Mostly because this program looked the most like what I was already trying to do with spelling but never quite got it pulled together as well as I would have liked.

For History, Geography, Literature and Science: TRISMS, History Makers. And the greatest part is that I’m not doing it all by myself which turned my general thoughts about handing over history to some book publisher from resignation to enthusiasm. I also liked the fact that the lesson plans aren’t too detailed so there is a lot of room to modify and adapt. I know you can do that with any curriculum, but you don’t know me. The last time I tried to follow a publisher’s plans, well, it ended badly as I tried to do every single little thing written and got way too overwhelmed. The only real problem I have with it is that it moves frighteningly fast, covering 8,000 years or so of human history in a year. Seriously, how much can you really learn about Ancient Greece in a week? So I’m glad we all agreed to slow it down and take two years.

For Math: Right Start. I’m yet to find a math program I actually like, so we’ll see how it goes with this one.

For a sort of science supplement extra curricular sort of thing: Chickens, chickens and more chickens! My daughter seems to be getting hooked on showmanship this summer as she prepares her little Ameraucana and nine little broilers for the county fair. I can’t believe the amount of time she is investing in those birds and in her spare time she is researching starting her own flock of salmon faverolles for next year. Anyway, she has decided to join the APA/ABA Youth Poultry Club and has a notebook to fill out and levels to test for and poultry shows to prepare for as she plans for and manages her little flock.

I’ll let you know what I think of it all later, once we actually start. But for the moment, my children really like packages in the mail that are then stored in a closet. Who knew you could build so much anticipation just by putting away boxes?

For more curriculum posts and to share your own, check out A Classic Housewife in a Modern World. And don’t forget to let me know how you “do school.” Have you used any of these products? Or have you found something else that just really works for your family? I’m sort of new to this whole curriculum buying thing…

I stand at the sink, drinking a glass of water as it turns immediately to sweat. I think this has to be a sign of dehydration and have another glass. I’m about to make my rounds, checking on the poultry, filling water dishes, making sure the animals are cared for. Last week on one of these water-bearing excursions I got dizzy and have since been much more diligent at making sure I have something to drink before going out.

Fresh water for the geese, the ducks, the broilers, and the chicks in their respective pens. Fresh water for the chickens who are out free ranging–one dish at the entrance of the coop, one in the shade of a large tree. Fresh water for the dogs. Fresh water on a table in the garage for the cat just in case the wind blows the door shut and she happens to get trapped inside.

I check on the garden to see if any of my vegetables struggling for a bit of space amongst the weeds need some watering to make it through the rest of the afternoon. The state is underwater with water volumes rivaling the Great Flood of 1993. Neighboring communities were evacuated. The Missouri has left its banks with flood waters covering one lane of Highway 2, five miles from where the river is supposed to stay. My husband is stuck in Creston waiting on a train that is waiting for flood waters to recede before it can pass.

Fortunately, the garden is still moist enough. It always seems strange when I need to set out a sprinkler in light of the ongoing news reports, but we live on a hill and mostly the rain only manages to increase the humidity for us.

Finally, my afternoon chores are finished and I walk up the hill toward the house, toward a nice, tall glass of refrigerator tea, toward a window fan that will provide a little relief from the heat.

Sweat is dripping from my forehead, plastering my hair to the side of my face and the back of my neck. The shirt I wear in lieu of sunscreen sticks wherever it finds skin. I lift it off my shoulders seeking just a little air. Suddenly, a breeze. . .ever so slight. . . comes down the hill to meet me and ruffle my shirt.

A breath of fresh air.

It is followed by a stronger breeze, a distinctly cooler breeze and I let it pick up my shirt and push it off my shoulders.

I bask in the coolness.

I can smell the rain on the changing wind. I can feel the temperature dropping. I close my eyes, breathe the clean, fresh air, drink in its refreshment.

And I wonder for a moment if the seemingly unbearable heat is worth it for the pleasure of just this small breeze meeting me as I walk toward the house.

Summer has made its arrival here in Nebraska with the heat index bringing us into triple digits. We’ve lost one broiler chick and the rest of our flock hangs out in the shade, wings lifted away from their bodies and panting.

As the heat increases, chickens slow down. They forage less and chase each other less. Layers may stop laying and meat birds may stop gaining weight. All of this signals heat stress which can be alleviated with some simple steps.

1. Select the right birds for your climate.

The most important part of keeping your flock healthy is to start with birds suited to your area. There are heat tolerant breeds, cold tolerant birds and birds that aren’t tolerant to any temperature extremes whatsoever (like broilers). Don’t build your flock based solely on looks, egg laying potential or what is available at the feed store. Know their preferences. Henderson’s Handy-Dandy Chicken Chart is a great place to find this information. At the very least, this will help you devise a plan to help your birds through temperature extremes they are not well suited to.

2. Plan your chicken coop with the climate in mind.

A roof slanted toward the summer sun will absorb more heat. A well-insulated coop will retain more heat and humidity. A coop built off the ground allows air flow under the coop, helping to keep bedding dry, thus reducing the humidity (and the smell!) A screened window (or hole covered in chicken wire) can make a huge difference on a hot day, as can free access to the outside where your birds have a choice between the coop’s shade and the summer breeze.

3. Water, water, water.

Warm water is better than no water, but on a hot day, keeping a steady supply of fresh, cool water will go a long way in helping your chickens manage the heat. Throw in some ice cubes to help keep it cool a little longer, especially if you need to be gone for a few hours during the heat of the day.

4. Know the signs of heat stress.

Your chickens will pant when it is hot outside. This is natural and does not necessarily mean you need to rush out and buy an air conditioning unit for their coop, even if you are hitting high temperatures. Except for a couple of hours in the early afternoon, our flock forages all day and shows no particular signs of actual stress. Our layers are laying well and our pullets are continuing to grow at a nice pace despite the triple digit heat. Basically, you need to know your birds and what is normal for them. You should be concerned with a bird that does not react normally. A struggling bird may also lay down in the dirt with wings held loosely and legs stretched behind them. This is an awkward position for a bird to take, particularly a prey species that normally is ready to take flight at a moment’s notice. When getting rid of excess heat becomes more important than fleeing from predators, it is probably past time to bring the bird inside and give it a cooling bath.

Important: Birds will acclimate to the heat over time. If the weather has been warming slowly over the last month, they may get through a heat wave with nothing but shade and some extra water. If the heat comes on suddenly, they will need more attention from you, but some of your cooling efforts can be scaled back as time goes on. Too much intervention can actually make it more difficult for them to acclimate to the heat.

5. Provide shade. And lots of it.

If you do not have shade, your chickens will tend to stay in the coop where air circulation is not as good. A shady spot in their run will provide much more relief from the heat. We have a dog house on one side of our run and a tarp spread out on the other side, though neither are of much use since most of our birds fly over the fence anyway. Instead, they hang out in the corner of an old barn, in the lilac hedge or in our windbreak. Free ranged birds know the coolest spots in their range. You just need to find where they’re going and make sure they don’t have too far to walk to get to their water.

6. Pay attention to the changing position of the sun.

This is particularly important for pastured poultry. A pen in a shady spot in the morning may trap them in full sun in the afternoon.

7. Start making ice packs.

Gallon milk jugs filled partway with water and frozen or Ziploc style baggies full of frozen water work great. Overheated birds will park themselves next to their makeshift air conditioning and drink the condensation as it forms. A pan of ice cubes will also be appreciated, though they are likely to foul them up rather quickly.

8. Mist your chickens.

Chickens don’t sweat, but a fine misting of their feathers will help cool them as it evaporates. Mine run too fast for me to spray them so I figure they aren’t that bad off. I’ve read of chickens who will stand near a sprinkler to take advantage of the spray, though, so it is definitely something to consider.

9. Mist your hen house.

This might bring up your water bill a bit, but consider running a sprinkler or hose over your chicken coop. The water itself will cool the building and the evaporative effect will further contribute to the cooling. If your birds free range like ours, this likely won’t help much but then your birds will also have far more choices of where to go to keep cool.

10. Provide wet sand for them to walk through.

The moisture will help cool their feet and legs as they walk through the sand.

11. Provide a good dust bath.

If you have chickens, you know they love nothing more than a good dust bath. They fluff their feathers, rub their wings and even roll in the loose dirt, trying to get the dust through their feathers and down to their skin. Dust baths help relieve itching, control parasites and are thought to help cool birds. At any rate, they certainly love them and all that feather fluffing has to be good for releasing extra heat! Sand or loose dirt in a shallow container (like a kitty litter pan) is perfect if you don’t have a section of your yard your birds have already turned into a dust bath site.

12. Provide a fan.

Air circulation will help your chickens significantly, especially if they’re locked in a coop for a day. Chickens keep their body temperature around 106 and, well, they’re like little heaters when they’re shut up together. Ventilation and a fan can help keep the coop from getting hotter than the outside temperature while also reducing the humidity.

How are your birds faring this summer? What have you done to help keep them cool? Most of our flock seems to be doing fine, while the broiler chicks are showing signs of stress. It has been a challenge keeping them cool. I just moved them off a table and into a larger, more ventilated pen on a concrete floor hoping to give them a little more relief. They certainly do like their ice packs! If it weren’t for the fact they are my daughter’s 4H project, I would never try raising broilers in the summer.

Copper’s growl is vicious as he attacks the fence of his kennel. I look out the window and see motion down by the hen house but cannot tell what it is. Copper attacks again, this time answered by a chorus of yips leaving no doubt that the coyotes have returned.

I step out on the porch, pushing the other dogs back. I don’t want them chasing coyotes onto their own turf again. I’m hoping my presence will be enough to drive them away, but on the porch, holding my trusty hoe, I falter.

The coyotes are still there. Copper is beside himself with a fury I’ve never heard from him before, and I can hear their rustling. They can’t get into the hen house and soon they’ll figure that out, but I don’t want to leave our little beagle at their mercy, either. They can easily jump a six foot fence, and poor Copper would barely be a snack.

But chasing coyotes is a little different than running to the hen house expecting to find a weasel. These coyotes have looked in our window, closed in on us and even chased our car. I’m not quite ready to see just how bold they are by running after them with a hoe and a flashlight.

So I stand on the porch in my pajamas holding a hoe in one hand and a flashlight in the other with thoughts racing and feet firmly planted.

A moment later, I am joined by Zane, a giant of a Doberman Pinscher whose shoulder stands at my hip. He gives me a smile only a Doberman can then reads the concern on my face as I look anxiously toward the hen house.

Instantly he turns from submissive, wriggly, over-sized puppy hoping for a scratch behind the ear to fearsome beast, his wrath evident in a vicious snarl and horrific charge. The coyotes take flight and disappear in the soybean field to the west as Zane halts at the property line.

I watch as he trots our western boundary, glaring into the darkness, voicing his anger and marking every few feet. I’m not alone. In the beam of the flashlight, I catch the eye shine of at least four animals lying amongst the soybeans watching him pace.

They finally move on and he returns to me, wagging is whole backside and smiling his Doberman smile, hoping for a scratch behind the ear.

I heartily oblige. “Good boy, Zane! Good boy!”  I so want to let him in the house, to reward him properly for his feat.

Thing is, he isn’t even our dog.

__________________________

Image courtesy of Webshots.

OK, so everyone who completes the 4H dog project is invited to show their dog in the state competition if they wish, but Mouse and Pepper gave a pretty good showing at the county dog show.

They took purple and the grand prize in Showmanship:

I think Pepper knew she won something. What do you think?

They also took blue and the grand prize in Obedience, blue in Agility and (what mom thinks is) the most important accomplishment of all: Most Improved Dog and Handler.

Not bad for a pound puppy we got the week training began. She barely knew her name by her first class!  But Mouse and Pepper have been working hard together and it really showed this weekend. Forgive mom for a moment of maternal pride, watching her daughter work so hard at something and see that effort rewarded.  It was strange feeling my pulse quicken when they were in the ring, hoping Pepper would show as well as she practiced.

And what does Pepper think of it all? I think her favorite part was getting ready for the show. Because it meant Bath Time!

I walk to the goose pen with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m carrying a pitcher of water to freshen their dish, but part of me is sure I’m going to find another body. Another victim. Another chip in my dreams for this place. It’s a slow walk because I’m afraid of what I may find, though it only prolongs the uncertainty.

At least until I’m close enough for the geese to hear me and their chorus of peeping assures me that all is well.

Since losing over half our flock, I’ve become a little more vigilant in watching over them. Hunter is no longer allowed in the house during the heat of the day. Copper is tied out near the goose pen where he can hunt voles and hopefully discourage the weasel. A squawk, a sudden flurry of flapping, a bark from any of the dogs . . all will send me running outside, certain my flock is under attack.

And believe me, now that my cockerels have turned into hormonal teenagers, there is a lot of squawking and flurries of flapping going on. The hens will have none of it and the cockerels won’t give it up.

You can imagine my response (and my pulse!) at two in the morning when I’m awakened by a chick’s scream. It’s a sound I’ve heard often enough. I have four chicks that free range with the rest of the flock and every so often they get a little too close to the hens at feeding time. Fortunately, these are warning pecks, aimed at teaching the chicks their proper place in the flock hierarchy.

But it is still a scream. And to someone who has heard it at almost every feeding, it is unmistakable.

And chickens don’t squabble at two in the morning. They’re silent. Even with the dog in the attached kennel barking like mad, they are silent and seemingly oblivious to all disruptions and intrusions.

So anyway, this is the point in the story where I’m running to the hen house barefoot and in my pajamas. I forgot the flashlight but at the last second hesitated just long enough to grab a hoe. After all, weasels and raccoons both have been known to stand their ground over a fresh kill, even against a human.

I don’t really stop to think whether it is smart to challenge them. The bites, the stitches, the rabies shots. It might be better to just replace the flock, but I think those are the costs you don’t count until after the crisis is over.

I fling open the hen house and . . . nothing. No disturbance. No chickens flapping wildly. No feathers settling from a struggle. No shuffling, even. Just the slight little coo my chickens always give when I open the hen house at night and the peeping of the geese in friendly greeting. By the porch light, I can see there’s no disturbance, but I decide to fetch a flashlight to do an actual head count.

Everyone’s accounted for.

But I’ll hear the scream three more times before the night is over. And each scream will send me running, though each time I’ll be a little less panicked.

In the morning, I discover the culprit.

The northern mockingbird. Renowned for his mimicry. Renowned for his late night singing. He can learn the songs of over 200 species in his lifetime, and ours has to go and choose the scream of a chick to perfect in the wee hours of the morning.

Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling, Independence Day edition!

We celebrate opportunity.

We have hundreds of choices about how to homeschool our children as Home Spun Juggling shares in her 500th comic strip.

And we have all those school supplies! Along with a little planning, they should help any homeschooler get through the year, as A Classic Housewife in a Modern World lays out.

There are Living Books, like You’re a Real Marco Polo shared by Sage Parnassus (who also shares a wonderful post on Claiming Magnanimity.

We can take advantage of book exchanges like the one offered by The Frugal Homeschooling Mom. And local classes offered in our community like Blogging 2 Learn’s Homeschool Blogging class.

We have a plethora of local learning opportunities, like Old Shasta visited by Blah, Blah, Blog.

We have friends and neighbors who bring history to life if we take the time to ask like Welcome to the Madness.

And we have a world of learning in our own backyard as No Fighting, No Biting shares.

We love the discoveries we make alongside out children. Like Who Knew Monet Loved Food and Painting? Crack the Egg shares a little about this little known passion.

We celebrate flexibility.

We can homeschool year round with Special Needs Homeschooling, and make summer an interesting change of pace with Parent at the Helm.

We can teach math with movies alongside love2learn2day.

We have the time to stick with a topic until it sticks (even if it is high school math!) just like Practical Pages.

We can turn learning into a game. That takes up the whole house. Just ask My Quivers Full.

We can embrace the beauty of short lessons like Life Nurturing Education.

We celebrate diversity.

We can accommodate all learners and learning styles, sometimes attracting reluctant parents who aren’t all that enthusiastic about homeschooling but are determined to do the best they can for their children as Avant Parenting discovers.

We can give additional structure to those children who need it and celebrate their accomplishments at the end of the year right alongside Secular Homeschool.

We give our girls drills (and our boys aprons) and encourage them to try new things, like Paper Bridges.

We have time to explore sign language, even with our tiniest babies, helped along with a video shared by Chrysalis.

We celebrate our rights.

(and can that get explosive at times!)

We desire educational freedom for everyone as shared by Corn and Oil.

We celebrate the ability to teach accurate history with Why Homeschool.

We assert our rights, and discuss how court cases and laws affect our rights like Alasandra’s Homeschool Blog Awards’ Troubling case against homeschool group.

And we stop to think whether the current trend in e-books is really good for our ability to deep read along with Barbara Frank.

We celebrate family togetherness.

After all, we homeschool primarily because we believe it is what is best for our family, like Home School Dad.

We have time to nurture friendships, and find that sometimes fewer friends can mean more specialness in the relationship, as shared by Teachable Moments.

We have the time and the courage to be real with our children, even if it isn’t always comfortable as On Wisdom’s Path shares.

And we can do it all on an old couch that we cover when company comes over like The Home (School) Stretch.

Because it is home. The best place to learn the most important lessons in life.

Thank you for celebrating our independence as homeschoolers with me for this edition of the Carnival of Homeschooling, organized by Why Homeschool. If you enjoyed the entries here, please consider sharing the link with your readers through your blog, Facebook, Twitter or whatever your social media of choice is!

Next week’s edition will be hosted by Why Homeschool and you can submit your homeschool related entries via the carnival form at BlogCarnival.

I’ll be hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling right here at Roscommon Acres tomorrow! Please send in your entries. The deadline is 9PM tonight, though I’m sure I’ll still be working on it way past then. If you want to slip something in a little past the deadline, shoot me a quick note on Twitter and I’ll let you know how.

If you’ve never participated in a carnival before, this is a great time to start! Just choose a homeschool related entry and send it in via the handy dandy carnival submission form. Blog Carnival will then kindly send me a copy of the form you filled out and I will include your entry for all to enjoy.

Happy Writing, and I look forward to meeting you at the carnival!

Summer is here and getting hot, hot, hot! It’s the perfect weather for yogurt: yogurt over fresh fruit for a light breakfast, blended with frozen fruit for an afternoon smoothie or frozen for a refreshing treat as the temperature rises. Unfortunately, our little one quart yogurt maker can’t keep up with the demand this time of year, but it doesn’t have to.

After all, all that handy little appliance does is keep my culture at 85 degrees or so until I turn it off. With outside temperatures staying in the 80s and 90s, there is no need whatsoever to plug in my yogurt maker and I can now make yogurt by the gallon.

All you need is a little yogurt, a lot of milk and a pan to heat it in.

Ingredients:

8 oz yogurt (plain, unsweetened and with live, active cultures)

1 quart milk

Procedure:

1)  Heat milk to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit to thoroughly pasteurize but do not let it boil. This makes sure the only bacteria you culture is the yogurt making bacteria (lactobacillus acidophilus). I’m real exact about this. I stick my pinky in the milk and if it “bites,” it has achieved the proper temperature.

That’s because I learned to make yogurt from a Kurdish woman and I was under the impression they weren’t in the habit of using kitchen thermometers.

2)  Set milk aside to cool to somewhere between 80 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Again, you can double check with your pinky. If it is slightly warmer than lukewarm, it’s ready.

3)  Stir in yogurt. Or should I say lightly mix in? The more you stir, the more sour your yogurt will be. I usually add a little milk into my yogurt and stir to make it liquidy then stir that into the milk with three or four slow strokes.

4)  Cover and set aside for eight to ten hours where it will stay warm. A covered porch, a garage, or if you’re fortunate enough to not have AC like us, then you can just set it on the counter.

5)  Refrigerate when thickened and sweeten according to taste. With sugar. With honey. With homemade mulberry syrup. With your favorite jelly. Or just eat it plain. It’s that good.

Now, the ingredient proportions do not need to be exact. You just need a little yogurt to get your yogurt started, but this proportion seems to work well pretty consistently without taking too long. And you know the best part? You just need to save back some of this batch to start your next batch! No need to buy more yogurt for your next batch.

After awhile, the yogurt culture will get “tired.” Meaning that you’ll suddenly have a thin batch. Then you know it is time to buy a new container of yogurt to start your next batch. This usually happens to me when I leave the yogurt starter in the refrigerator for a few days before trying to start the next batch. The sooner you use it, the better it will be.

Your homemade yogurt may not be quite as thick as store bought, but it tastes much fresher and you have complete control over how you sweeten and flavor it. After awhile, you will notice that store bought yogurt has a sort of strange, gelatiny feel to it. That’s because a lot of yogurts are made with a thin yogurt thickened with gelatin.

Yours is 100% yogurt, 100% fresh and 100% delicious!

Running a quick errand, fiddling with the radio, the children chattering in the back and I caught a glimpse of motion ahead and to the right. Not perceiving exactly why, I stopped the car and waited. Slowly, cautiously, a deer emerged from the underbrush and just stood at the side of the road, seemingly as captivated by me as I was by her. The children unbuckled and leaned over the seat to get a better look and still she just stood, watching us watch her.

Read the rest over at Heart of the Matter…