One thing God has given each of us is our bodies, and we are called to be good stewards of those bodies. Last week, the kids and I began our newest unit study about stewardship. We are learning ways to be good stewards by keeping our bodies in shape and ready for His service.
So far, we learned the 6 basic nutrients, what each nutrient does, and how to read all the information on a nutrition label to be sure you are eating enough of what you need and not too much of what you don't.
We took a few days to learn about different types of beans and the nutrients found in them, and Britches learned how to make bean soup. Also, the kids gathered around the table and mixed up 9 different beans to make 9 bean soup. They packaged it in pint jars and took them to friends as gifts of good health.
We spent time learning about how healthy nuts are, and we located on our world map where different nuts are grown.
And today, we talked about different whole grains - wheat, rice (brown and white), oats, corn, quinoa, couscous, and flax. We talked about how any grain can be made into flour and then cooked into whatever foods we want to make and eat. Those with allergies or gluten intolerance can cook foods with rice flour, Mexican's use corn flour for tortillas, and quinoa flour makes delicious noodles!
Then we got online and found a great recipe from Israel called challah. It is a braided bread recipe. The kids pulled out all the ingredients, and each took turns adding things and mixing the dough. When it got too stiff, Little Man and Little Sister decided to go play (plus, Little Sister was beginning to feel bad and wanted to go sit an play alone), and I taught Britches how to knead dough and why we do it. I tell you, that girl is going to take over my job of bread baking before long, because she just LOVES getting her hands messy and making bread. And she did a great job! After we let it rise for a few hours, and while the little ones were napping, Little Man, Britches, and I got around the table and divided the dough between the three of us.
Britches and Little Man each rolled out and braided their own dough. OK well, Little Man did like NONE of it, because he couldn't get his to work right, so Britches and I helped him out. But he did give it a good try, and he was really proud of himself for what he DID do!
These are their finished bread braids before we let them rise.
I only have 2 long pans, so after Britches braided my dough, we shaped it like a circle so it would fit on my other pan.
They each brushed the tops of their bread with egg white to make them shiny when they cooked. Also, Britches sprinkled salt on the top of hers, because she thought it would taste a little like a pretzel. Mine was brushed with egg yolk and sprinkled with sesame seeds.
These are our finished challah loaves. They were every bit as tasty as they look!!
I did have 2 sick little ones today, so school took a LONG time! We worked while they napped, because the rest of the day was spent holding one or both of them. But by the end of the day, they both were a little better and were able to give me a little smile.
In a few days, when the little ones are feeling better, we'll be going on a field trip to our local grocery store. I plan to show them different whole grains, fruits, and veggies, and we'll see where they come from and how they grow. Then, we'll compare some nutrition labels, and see which foods are healthy and which ones are not.
Our bodies are only one thing God has given us with which to be good stewards. We must keep our bodies healthy by eating right and exercising in order to be fit to do the work which He has called us to do.
Great work on the Challah guys!!!!
ReplyDeleteI am loving your unit!