Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A Slice of Homeschooling Life

Here's my tip of the week. For more great tips on anything and everything, head on over to Shannon's blog, Rocks in my Dryer.

My family refuses to eat the heels of any loaf of bread. Truth be told, I’m not a fan myself. I don't even think bread pudding or dressing (stuffing, for you Northern folk) tastes the same made with just bread crusts.

Despite my loathing of the leftovers of the loaf, though, I absolutely can't stand waste. Instead of throwing them away, I pop them into a plastic bag I keep in the freezer. (I also do this with any leftover and/or dried-out bread, rolls, and biscuits. ) The next time the weather is pretty, we raid the freezer for all the bread and then go to the park to feed the geese and ducks. It's great, because there is always plenty of bread to go around, even with Screech throwing entire slices (or eating the occasional piece herself - ewwww). This last time, we even had to put some back into the freezer because we took so much.

Here is a pic of our latest outing when we had a gorgeous 75 degree day:


The kids love this park because they also have a small, free zoo. This particular day was so gorgeous, it would have been a crime to keep them inside doing workbooks (not that we do a lot of those anyway - blechh!). After feeding the ducks and geese, we spent the day at the zoo. I took a bagful of books, and as we visited each animal, we read a book about it. It was great, because we weren't limited to whatever information was posted by each exhibit. Being homeschoolers, we had the whole place to ourselves, and we could take as much time as we wanted.

Here's a shot of Drama Queen reading to Pete. I love the way they share books together!


Just think; if they had been on a public school field trip, they would have been herded along like cattle, having to stay on schedule. When I was a kid, I remember not getting much out of field trips because I was usually stuck in the back of the group and couldn't hear whatever the teachers or guides were saying. I never had time enough to really look at anything long enough to be meaningful. It didn't help that I was usually surrounded by the class clowns who were too busy climbing the exhibits to learn anything about them. (Yup - that there is called "socialization". Don'tcha just want MORE of that for your kids?)

15 comments:

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

Wow -- I have to remember that. I always get rid of the heels, and that is a perfect solution.

And, it's great to read what you had to say about homeschooling. We are planning to start homeschooling for next school year.

Anonymous said...

Great post, I like your idea about the bread, but I also like you point about homeschooling.

Crafty P said...

I feel the same way! I feel awful throwing those pieces away. I either tear them up for the birds or grind them up into bread crumbs!

Mom2fur said...

When my in-laws were alive, there was a duck pond behind their retirement community. Grandpa would take my kids to feed the ducks, and they just loved it! Not only are you being frugal...you're creating memories with your kids. Good for you!

Anonymous said...

That's a good idea. I'm planning on taking he kids to the duck pond tomorrow and we'll have to use good bread :(. At least I'll know for next time!

Phyllis Sommer said...

great tip. i like to turn the bread inside out and put the peanut butter on the heel part. turned outward, it looks like a "normal" sandwich! but this is another great way to use up the bread and have fun too! i think you are right about field trips, i always hated them too.

Anonymous said...

*I* think the heels of the bread, either! But the kiddos all don't mind them. They are SO weird. Must get it from their father. :)

Isn't homeschooling awesome? I couldn't ever give it up willingly. Even if it means watching them eat the heels.

vicvic said...

That is so funny! My WFMW post today is about saving the heels in the freezer to make bread pudding! We like it for breakfast, and my kids seem to prefer the bread pudding made with the heels.

Kathy in WA said...

Great tip! I have a friend who uses the crusts and crumbs for croƻtons. I think that would also be a clever use of those leftovers.

Thanks for stopping by!

Duckabushs Blog

Sonshine said...

Cool! I love it when I can do teaching moments away from the house and the books! Looks like everyone was enjoying their day!

As for the bread heels, we are not fans of them either. This winter I have been crumbling them up and sticking them on the patio steps and we watch as the squirrels come up and get the bread. When we have not had bread out there we have a squirrel that will come right up to the glass door looking for bread. I think it is funny. In the spring and summer time, the bread will go out closer to the bird feeder so I don't have squirrels trying to get thru the screens. :)

Thanks for sharing!

Mom2fur said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you find some good deals at CVS!

Kristi said...

That's a great idea for the bread ends. We also use them for bedtime snacks. That which they will not eat at any other time feels like a treat if its on the heels of bedtime.

Amy said...

I usually don't mind the crusts, but when they do get old and, well, crusty, I freeze them, too. I usually make bread crumbs out of them, but I definitely have to keep in mind the duck feeding idea!

Terri said...

I love the duck feeding idea. Great job!

Christine said...

What a great way to use the heals. You could also use them for bread crumbs...or send them to me, they are my fave ;).