BBCo – Page 16 – Blackbird and Company

Posted on August 10, 2012 by BBCo

Cooking with Teens: The Marshmallow Bake Off!

I’m fascinated by the diversity of recipes.

My good friend recently gave me her recipe for marshmallows. Let’s just say, a certain western cooking and lifestyle magazine published a very different recipe claiming they would be easy and good. So I invited my teenagers into the kitchen and the bake off began!

The tiniest of difference in recipe ingredients, I suspected, would make all the difference, but I kept it neutral, wanting my kids to discover the miracle of chemistry in the process. Thing is, the magazine recipe calls for egg whites and the other is egg white free.

Ultimately the egg whites created a “Son of Flubber” bouncy marshmallow. My friend’s recipe had a thick heavier bite that would do well at the end of a roasting stick and would hold up well in a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

If you want to have some fun making your own yummy mallows for "Give Me S’Mores" here is the recipe for you to try.

Kari’s Marshmallow Recipe

Step 1 ingredients:
– ¾ cups water
– 4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
– ¼ cup cornstarch
– ¼ cup sifted powdered sugar (don’t skip sifting or you’ll be sorry)
– 2 teaspoons vanilla (or another extract of your choice, think peppermint at Christmas)

Step 2 ingredients:
– 3 cups of granulated sugar
– 1¼ cups of light corn syrup
– ¼ teaspoon salt
– ¾ cup water

Step 1:
Line a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish with heavy duty foil and brush it with vegetable oil. Mix the powered sugar with the cornstarch in a bowl, then coat the foil dish with it, (you don’t have to use it all). In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle in the water and gelatin and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

Step 2:
In a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, light corn syrup, salt and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan, cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees, and then remove from the heat.

Next, with the mixer on low speed, using the whisk attachment, very carefully pour the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture. When the syrup is incorporated, increase the speed to high and continue beating until stiff peaks form and mixture is cool about 20 to 30 minutes. Then beat in 2 teaspoons of vanilla. Poor the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth with an offset spatula( oiled well), and let stand overnight, uncovered, until firm.

Dust the top with a combination of cocoa powder and powdered sugar, then cut into squares using a sharp knife lightly brushed with oil. Coat the sides of each marshmallow with more of the sugar/cocoa mixture, trying not to eat too many. Enjoy!

– Sara

Posted on August 8, 2012September 6, 2020 by BBCo

Unplug: Wire Works

Most of my boy’s friends are not only scheduled to the hilt with summer activities, the majority of their down time is spent video gaming or surfing the web.

My boys are embarking upon August charging ahead recklessly into the Unplug Challenge.

And guess what?

My boys are enjoying the plummet into low tech!

Today, unplugged is all about wire and divergent thinking.

Here’s what Sir Ken Robinson has to say, “Divergent thinking isn’t the same thing as creativity. I define creativity as the process of having original ideas that have value. Divergent thinking isn’t a synonym but is an essential capacity for creativity. It’s the ability to see lots of possible answers to questions, lots of possible ways to interpret a question, to think laterally, to think not just in linear or convergent ways, to see multiple answers, not one.”

So what can you make with a couple spools of wire?

– Kim

Posted on August 6, 2012 by BBCo

Sewing Fall Pumpkins!

Fall always provides inspiration in abundance. Pumpkins are everywhere! But we all know that once fall arrives, it's too late to actually plant. So if you've missed your window for sowing pumpkins seeds in your garden, use this summer to make some cute and easy quilt squares. These can be finished off and used for wall hangings, pillows, buntings, or festive table top decorations.

Materials:
– various fabrics scraps for pumpkins & stems
– background fabric
– fun coordinating fabrics to surround the base square (I used bright blue which is the complement of orange)
– fusible webbing such as Wonder Under or other brands
– sewing machine, needle/thread
– fabric scissors, rotary cutter, cutting mat

Directions:
– fuse one side of the pumpkin and stem fabrics that you have chosen
– draw pumpkins and stems onto the fused backing with a pencil, cut out
– cut your square for the background and border pieces
– following the directions on the fusible web, iron on the pumpkin and stems to the background square
– hand stitch around the shapes or machine stitch about an 1/8th “ from the edges
– apply contrasting fabric strips along edges of square (we used a skewed log cabin technique)
– square up your finished square with an Olfa cutter and mat
– finish edge according to what your final project will be

– Sara

Posted on August 2, 2012September 6, 2020 by BBCo — 2 Comments

The Unplug Challenge: Call for Ideas

Help us grow a collective “Unplug” list. Share your ideas on our Facebook page. Pass it on, and let’s see how long of a list we can create. If you have a longer story to share about “unplugging,” email it to us at takeflight@blackbirdandco.com and we may just feature it here on four&twenty.

Here’s one from my house:

Play a board game.

My boys invited a friend to our house. Since the PS3 was off limits, they decided to play a board game. They were shocked to discover their friend had never played Monopoly, “No way.”

After a few minutes of indignant boy noises they, they stomped off to the game cabinet and passed on their wealth of knowledge in the most chaotic dissemination of Monopoly rules that I have ever witnessed. Midway through the game I brought them a bowl of popcorn so I could eavesdrop for a minute. The mock landlords were taking their jobs very seriously.

For the next couple hours my boy’s buddy was unplugged.

That’s the way with imagination.

– Kim

Posted on August 1, 2012September 6, 2020 by BBCo — 3 Comments

Device of Wonder

Way back in the fall of 2001 we made several trips to The Getty to marvel at an exhibit of fanciful machines, Devices of Wonder. Back then Søren was barely two-years-old so he made his way via a stroller. But I guarantee, even back then my youngest boy was captivated.

One evening this past week, three weeks into Da Vinci Summer—our family’s DIY summer tradition—twelve-year-old Søren handed me a handmade device.

My husband and the boys have a tinker chest out back that keeps all sorts of cast off gadgets that this mom would not have the vision to keep. For this particular project, Søren chose a piece of square tubing that was once-upon-a-time a bathroom towel rung.

“Look mom,” I made a kaleidoscope, “but you have to look through it in the dark.”

So I followed his instructions and went into the closet, held the tube that Søren had carefully duct taped at both ends, peered through the end baring a peep hole and beheld the geometric activity of seven activated glow sticks, “Wow!”

This was no ordinary kaleidoscope.

And, though I believe my Søren is no ordinary son, I honestly believe that every child possesses certain genius. But certain genius demands certain prodding. And sometimes saying, “No,” is just the thing.

No TV.

No texting.

No Facebook.

No Youtube.

No video games.

No… !

Leonardo said, “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”

But the technological world has a pesky way of diverting the child from the world of curiosity, and when the child is diverted from curiosity, then doing, at least the kind that Leonardo is speaking of, becomes quite impossible.

Søren’s kaleidoscope is a product of doing.

And as an aside, pay a visit to the virtual Devices of Wonder exhibit at The Getty, an online activity that deserves a hearty, “Yes!”

– Kim

Posted on July 30, 2012September 6, 2020 by BBCo

The Unplug Challenge

At first the Unplug Challenge gave me laryngitis. Seriously, the vibration of my vocal chords was a jumprope snapping, “No No No No No!”

The simple summer goal was to challenge my boys that low tech is fun. It began with a Victor Hugo quote posted prominently on the front of our refrigerator, “He who every morning plans the transaction of the day and follows out that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through the maze of the most busy life. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidence, chaos will soon reign.”

My plan was more like a nudge. So each morning I reminded my boys that it would be their responsibility to deny the technological progress of the 21st century, dust off their imagination, and engage in endless possibility.

At first my boys were bored.

R-e-a-l-l-y bored.

I reminded myself that boredom might be just the garden for imagination to bloom.

And on it went, “Mom can I _____________________.?”

Each time the blank was filled in with a noun or phrase having to do with video games or the word-wide-web, the answer was an affirmative NO.

Guess what?

The Challenge is doing the trick! I’m witnessing the resurgence of imagination in my pre-teen and teenage sons.

This weekend boredom led Liam and Søren to rummage through our shed where they discovered our old inflatable pool. That gave them an idea.

Since the adventure was to consume most of Saturday and Sunday, I enjoyed the snapshots I encountered here and there.

To begin, blowing up the thing was quite a challenge. Think Home Improvement. Yes, they actually began trying to use Dad’s air compressor to inflate. Not bad. I didn’t have the heart to stop their Tim-the tool-man-Taylor technique. Instead, I steadied myself for the pop. Luckily the compressor and the pool were not compatible so we never got to that point. Next, they tried the bicycle pump. No luck. Now think Tale of the Three Little Pigs. Yep, old school. They huffed and puffed for nearly an hour. Sure enough I eventually heard the hose running and, donning their beachwear, the quick-change artists were splashing, which is about all that a big lumbering teenager can do in an inflatable pool. Or so I thought. Not long after a few rounds of splashing, I saw them rigging up a balance beam, adjusting the ladder.

“What are you thinking boys?”

“Backyard-Ninja-Warrior!!!”

Of course.

That’s when the fun got really fun—cannonballs from the ladder and walking the plank.

Suffice to say, my boys are enjoying old school activities, the kind that don’t involve watts or mega bites.

R-e-a-l-l-y enjoying, imagine that.

– Kim

Posted on July 23, 2012 by BBCo

Da Vinci Summer III, Stitch a Tradition

I never could relate to spring cleaning. The timing just never worked out for me when Evelyn and Wesley were young. March, April, and May were busy with culminating end-of-the-year school activities. I'd say summer purging was more the thing, out with the old, space for the new.

Now that both (yes, both!) my children are off to college, summer purging has turned to summer reminiscing. Anticipating Evelyn's homecoming, I dug up memory lane in my daughter's kindergarten box. Was it really that long ago that I used stitchery to help develop fine motor skills? Did I introduced embroidery to strengthen handwriting or did I use handwriting to strengthen embroidery skills? Now there's a question.

In either case, we did a little embroidery to embellish all subject areas. We stitched a color wheel and discussed the physics of light. We stitched texture as we discussed and observed the elements of visual art. We stitched the ABCs. And we stitched the world when we explored the complexities of geography.

Scraps of fabric, an embroidery hoop, needle and floss will get the process started. It will look funky at first but you’ll see huge progress over the years.

Both my daughter and my son stitched. Looking back their stitching proved quite academic. In the early years they strengthened hand-eye coordination, learned to slowly attend to detail, became comfortable with problem solving. This little habit of being was a way to bring shape to an original idea sparked from some bit of information they were learning to master. When we studied California history, we fashioned an elaborate quilt that stitched together their knowledge of geography in a way that meaningfully stitched what they had learned into their memory.

Embroidery is an art form and like all art forms is a language worth the student's attention. I say summer is just the space to introduce the art of embroidery.

– Sara

Posted on July 16, 2012September 6, 2020 by BBCo

A Souvenir of Stars

This summer we’re exploring our Italian roots via an extended virtual tour. It’s such fun visiting all the places we would visit if we could really visit. Thanks to the wonder of technology, we can experience the landscape of Italy in the comfort of our home.

We’re beginning slow. On Sundays we eat Italian, risotto is a new family favorite that we are trying to perfect. Our touring is geographic and historical and with each click, we wander where our heels lead. Art, music, people, events, we never quite know where the trail will lead. And the great thing about a trip like this is that we can afford to stay as long as we want!

By mid-June we dove into year-one Rosetta Stone. On the 4th of July when we decided to explore the Venetian art of Millefiori, we were daring enough to venture the art of translation. “Millefiori” is Italian for “thousand flowers” by the way. Originally this art form was accomplished with glass and fire. Thankfully, nowadays a millefiori-esque process can be used to make designs with polymer clays. So we pulled out our tub of Fimo and experimented. Using the Millefiori cane technique, we made long tubes with the simple star shape and were delighted by the simple act of slicing star after star until the tube was a transformed to a mass of tiny beads—a souvenir of stars.

– Kim

Posted on July 11, 2012September 6, 2020 by BBCo

Discover Literature!

Blackbird & Company Literature Discovery guides are an integrated approach to mastering language arts skills. Each guide is a reading and writing journey. Our titles span a wide range of genres and represent what we believe is the best of classic and contemporary literature on the market today.

The Literature Discovery Guide will do just as the title suggests, guide your student through a close reading of a story. The reading of a single book is divided into four sections to help pace the reader. Each week, as students explore one section of a great story, they will not only discover the components that writers use to tell great stories, but will practice crafting words to bring shape to their own original idea sparked from the weekly reading.

We understand that it is easy for the study of a piece of literature to overshadow the story itself. With this in mind, our goal is to lead the reader through each piece of literature in a way that plumbs its depths while keeping its intrinsic value intact. We further understand that reading has the profound potential to pique the reader’s curiosity and to spark a new idea in the mind’s eye. For this reason we provide weekly occasion for the student to bring shape to a new idea through a directed writing activity. The ultimate goal is to create a routine, but not just any routine, a purposeful routine. We believe that the right kind of practice over time develops a habit of being regardless of the subject being tackled. A habit of being in language arts, once established, will not only create an appetite for great stories but also the skill and tenacity to pin down great original ideas.

Level 1 guides are recommended for a wide range of lower elementary students (grades 2-3) who have acquired the foundational skills necessary to independently read and respond to a simple piece of literature. Because there is a vast age range at this level, books have sophisticated content at an emergent reading level. Each guide is designed to be completed in five weeks, which allows students to work through six to eight units in a typical school year.

View our Level 1 titles here »

Level 2 guides are recommended for middle elementary students (grades 3-5) who are in the process of acquiring the proficiency necessary to confidently read and to respond to a complex piece of literature. Because there is still a range of reading competency at this level, Level 2 books have sophisticated content at an advanced emergent reading level. Each guide is designed to be completed in five weeks, which allows students to work through six to eight units in a typical school year.

View our Level 2 titles here »

Level 3 guides are recommended for confident upper elementary and entry-level middle school students (grades 5-8) who have acquired the proficient skills necessary to read and to respond to a complex piece of literature. Each guide is designed to be completed in five weeks, which allows students to work through six to eight units in a typical school year.

View our Level 3 titles here »

Posted on July 10, 2012September 6, 2020 by BBCo

Metamorphosis of a Baseball

It‘s true. I’m one of those people who do not get sports analogies. So last week, I was tickled when I noticed Søren unraveling a baseball.

The activity began when he found an old ball in the ivy. He tossed the treasure toward the lolling blue sky a few times then snuck into the work shed and emerged a few minutes later with a pocketknife. He deftly skinned the thing and was delighted to discover that its innards were a tightly wound mass of fine thread.

He spent an hour or so unwinding without an ounce of boredom. When our backyard had been properly spider-webbed, he came to the end of the fine thread and hit a layer of wound cord. He kept at the business of unwinding and was delighted to discover that at the core of the baseball were two wooden hemispheres, “Mom, look…!”

“I never knew.”

I suggested Søren make something out of the baseball components and went back to my gardening, assuming he would shrug off my suggestion. But soon after that he came to me with his summer baseball sculpture, a non-functional tropical smoothie tumbler.

Now there’s a sports analogy I can chew on.

– Kim