Little Women Hospitality - Cleaning

Okay, so if you are dividing hosting duties and Cleaning is one of the sessions available -- take it!  Who wouldn't want a group of young ladies learning to clean to work in your house?  Okay, so it's not like cleaning the bathroom, but I am sure you have never dusted your living room ten times in the same day before. 

I think the girls liked the button game most of all.  The hostess hid buttons in various locations, behind picture frames, under brik-a-brac and other places that if they follow the directions for dusting properly they would naturally find.  Needless to say, the girls had a great competition to see who found the most.

The Literature Example comes from All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor, as well as the button game.  I think the girls are awaiting their turn reading the excerpts with excitement ... both nervous in front of the other girls as well as eager to show off their skill.

Chill Zones for Florida - Apples Peaches Nectarines

We were looking at Varieties of fruit trees that will bear fruit in Florida. 



available online through groworganic.com

 There are some exciting new varieties out there, but we were stumped at the store nursery by the chill hours requirement for different varieties.  Frustrating, but although the nursery attendant really wanted us to take home some trees, they weren't able to tell us whether they were good for our area. 

With a little searching, here is the chill zone map for Florida from the UF Extension Office.

January through March are considered the best times to plant apple trees in North to Central Florida.  (Although it was mentioned that December was okay too.)

Here is a link to the Low Chill Apple Page at the UF Extension Office.

Update:   I found an interesting website that addressed apples grown in hot climates at Kuffel Creek.

Fort George Inlet at Talbot Islands Florida State Park

Todays trip was about seeing and feeling marine.

Hermit crab without silly glitter and paint.

A1A is that bridge.

The sand "was like walking in snow" another visitor warned us.

Not legal.  But, can you imagine the sound?  Amazing.

A jelly caught in a pool, spinning in circles.

Racoon went left.

Bird went right.

We went straight.

Sea slugs?

Succulents in the Sand ...

This isn't dry desert sand, this is salty salt marsh sand, but the leaves of these little succulents store fresh water for itself. Cool and pretty. 

Added bonus, no needles.

Little Women Hospitality - Cooking

This skill is so necessary, not only for our young ladies, but for our young men too.  It was a lovely connection for me to see the recommended reading as Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott.

Although it doesn't show up well in this file, the recipe cards and clippings are well contained in the plastic sleeves of page protectors.  We found recipes in various places, such as Tea and Cake with the Saints by Alice Cantrell,  Tiana's Cookbook (She is Disney's The Princess and the Frog heroine) and American Girl books. 

The girls learned of basic kitchen safety, measuring procedures and were able to make a non-bake recipe, (the facility was not equipped with a kitchen we could use).  If you are working with a similar space, bring in measuring cups, types of utensils and baking pans to let the girls become familiar with them. 

We are fortunate to have a food bank within our parish, so touring and donating items were very easy to arrange and carry out.

Betz-Tiger Point Preserve

I may get in trouble for this.  But .... the nicest of ladies, Elaine, mentioned that all the tourists seem to stop at Pumpkin Hill Preserve and go no further.  (Oh, it was a little painful to be catagorized as a tourist in Florida, but I can be a big girl and move beyond that). 

Why? It's hot, sandy, and really not a lot to see if you are not into hoofing it through the trails.  So they go home.    If you take the time to continue to the end of Pumpkin Hill Drive, there is the sign for Betz-Tiger Point Preserve and a lovely looking gate. 

The signs are quite beautiful as far as park signs go.  The entire drive into the park is lined by newly planted oaks, which will grow into a spectacular entrance. 

There is a set of toilets, clean and toilet paper was stocked.

a map of the island preserve, a bike rack,

and a pavillion with picnic tables. 

A very nice pavilion with picnic tables.

A ground level boardwalk leads to a dock on the marsh, and miles of trails wind through the island. 

There are also other educational signs along the trails. 

Pumpkin Hill Creek State Buffer Preserve, Cedar Point Preserve, Betz-Tiger Point Preserve among other areas are all part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic National Preserve, State Park and Jacksonville Park Preserves. 

Lemon Blossom and Orange Blossom

Which is which? 

Lemon blossom buds have lavender on the outside. 

Oranges are all white. 

Take a look!

Gardening Starts - Seeds are started

Radishes have popped up. 

What a balm after the spinach seeds are a

no show two years running!

The Peas have started to stretch up too.

Little Women Hospitality Club

We love the Little Women Hospitality Club so far.  The girls were happy to still be in a girls only group.  We have 90 minutes, and it isn't long enough, both the girls and mothers would like more.  So far, we have extended the time by having a movie day after the Cleaning chapter, popcorn and pizza.  We also had an outing to the department store for Cleaning and Setting a Table.  It was fun to compare the favorite china patterns of mothers and daughters as well as to use the department store's stock to completely build table settings, informal, American formal, French formal, crowded table.  The store provided gift bags and we walked to a Panera Bread for an afternoon snack. 

Not so easy to find the chapters of Little Women Hospitality Club online it seems.  Well here they are for Year I : Cooking, Cleaning, Setting and Clearing a Table, Table Manners and Conversation, Preparing a Room for a Guest, Writing Correspondence, Bringing Hospitality to Others, Sewing and Dressing Modestly,  Planning a Tea Party,  and Running a Book Club. 

Year II follows with : Laundry, Care for Elderly, Personal Cleanliness, Tradition, Art and Beauty, Interior Decorating, Public Speaking, Gardening, Friendship, and Hosting a Picnic.

The girls all had have three ring binders to keep their books and handout sheets in.  To get my itty bitty excited about her binder, we chose a pretty floral binder and matching dividers.  In addition to that, we printed out chapter sheets that Label the Chapter with a graphic that pertains to the activity. (I love the graphics I find on The Graphics Fairy).  We also put in page protectors to serve as pockets for each chapter to place little things in.  We punched holes in her student book to slip it into the binder so it is not forgotten.  (I collected 5 books after the first lesson I lead - 5 books!)  We are ready to go forward. 

Summer Day Camps for Jacksonville

Summer Camps aren't out for everyone yet, but I wanted to start compiling a list of ones I want to watch for.  So if you see 2011 information - patience - I am holding the space and idea to check for 2012.

Boy Scouts Aquatics Camp - Echockotee  Aquatics Camp on Doctors Lake, Orange Park
http://aquaticscamp.org/  June 18th - August 3rd for boys and grils aged 6-14 years.

CubScout Day Camps - They are online! Yay! They are having a Weird Scientist Theme ...
http://www.doubleknot.com/openrosters/ViewOrgPageLink.asp?LinkKey=35278&orgkey=1312

GirlScouts Resident Camp Kateri in Orange Springs/Hawthorne
http://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/OnlineStore/GSProductDetail/tabid/497/ProductId/62084873/Default.aspx

GirlScouts Day Camp North Fork in Middleburg http://gsusa.ebiz.uapps.net/vp/OnlineStore/GSProductDetail/tabid/497/ProductId/64378181/Default.aspx

St. Johns County 4-H Day Camps
http://stjohns.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/2012summercampBrochure.pdf

The summer camps at the Friends of GTMNERR are sold out for this summer.

St. Augustine Lighthouse on Anastasia Island  -Registration is for students who have complete Kindergarten through 6th Grade, registration begins March 15th.  Summer camps are from June 18th to August 10th.
http://www.staugustinelighthouse.org/education/Summer_Camp

Surf Into Summer Surf Camp
http://www.surfintosummer.com/

MS ASPIRE Educational Center -

"Our purpose is to provide engaging learning activities and field experiences to enable girls’ exploration of science and math connections to visual and performing arts. " This is an 8 week camp with an Under the Sea theme, $125 Registration Fee and $70 Weekly Fee, 9am to 3pm in South Jacksonville for 4th to 8th grade girls. http://www.msaspire.net/images/stories/S.M.Art_Girlz_Summer_Camp_2011_Flyer.pdf

City of Jacksonville Parks and Rec Summer Camps:
http://www.coj.net/departments/recreation-and-community-services/recreation-and-community-programming/summer-camp.aspx

Florida State College at Jacksonville
http://www.fscj.edu/mydegree/news-events/summer-camps.phpAerospace Adventures High School Summer Youth Program

Aerospace Adventures High School Summer Youth Program is a six-day interactive experience that will provide eight high-school students with exposure to authentic aviation learning experiences. This exciting youth summer program will be offered at Florida State College at Jacksonville's Aviation Center of Excellence and will be implemented by professional certified flight instructors.

The program is designed as an introductory course to airplanes, aerodynamic principles of flight, airplanes systems, air traffic control, airport operations, radio communication, weather, and flight planning. Students will have real-world application through flight simulation, weather briefings, planning a flight, and experience flying a segment of their planned flight in a Cessna. The program is designed to inspire students to pursue their pilot certificate.

Kirby Smith Science Camps - Kirby Smith Middle School
Science/Tech Summer Camp 2012
Space Explorers Camp 2012
This is a popular choice for an educational camp that parents say their children ask to go to year after year.  After beginning camp, an advanced camp is offered at Jacksonville University expanding on the program.
http://kirbysmithclubs.com/advanced-science-and-tech-camp-2011/

surfing etiquette - really - from surfinghandbook.com

So before hitting the beach, this might be handy.  And really at 45F you aren't going anywhere anyway, so read up on the polite surf behavior.  This is from the Surfing Handbook Website.  The picture is mine - as with all my pictures - look, but don't touch.

JMG Chapter 6 Online KidsZone Alternative

Going onto the the JMG KidZone hit a snag today.  On Chapter 6, the links lead to websites that have changed layout since the KidZone page was built.  To work around that, I pulled some gorgeous photos of various fruits and nuts and the full sized plants they grow on.  Since I didn't take them myself, I can't really post what we looked at here, but it was pretty easy to find online.

A bit of news is the New USDA Plant Hardiness Zones maps are a great graphic to send out via email to students.  The map in the program is not the updated one yet.  Understandable since it came out only three weeks ago.

Isn't it pretty?

Flying Dragon Citrus Nursery

Love this place.  This is the Citrus Nursery we went to last year.  We have gorgeous smelling blossoms right now!  They do field trips to schools, have classes, playgroups, womens groups and homeschool groups visit.  You can tour, talk and taste.

They also provide citrus to local historical parks: Alpine Grove Park, Walter Jones Historical Park.

A walk in the woods in early summer - Julington Durbin Creek Preserve

The Julington Durbin Creek Preserve

A better brochure for the preserve including the hiking map that is NEVER stocked at the Trail entrance.

And this almost became Batram Park's Golf Course. 

We like to hike straight to the water.  I heard that they were doing a lot of work on the pine population.  After reading through Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by Janisse Ray, I am even more excited to head back out and identify and excite the littles about the ecosystems there.

Kingsley Plantation

One of the interesting local historical parks is Kingsley Plantation .  It is a part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic National Preserve.   If you visit for a learning experience, children may enjoy the Junior Range program pamphlets:

For ages 7 years and under

For ages 8 years and older 

Recently I took a friend from Illinois to the park.

The number and size of the slave quarters she found heartwrenching. 

 I didn't need to add that during other months, the insects are so terrible in number and aggression, that it is impossible to walk among the cabins as we did that day. 

 The cabins are all lacking roofs except for the supervisors cabin, redone to help visitors have a feel of the space.  The cabins' walls are all repainted and repaired  over the original tabby aside from a few saved spots. 

 As with other types of construction, they would be completely destroyed in time.

On the water, strong breezes blowing away most of the insects is the main plantation house and outbuildings.

Boats pass steadily by, an easy transportation route even today.

Although not exactly Scarlett's beloved Tara, Kingsley Plantation is the oldest plantation house still standing in Florida. 

Although not an entire day trip, a leisurely visit will occupy 4 hours.  The rangers here are a great resource and happy to stop and talk about stories, activities and even may recruit littles to try their hand at cotton picking!

Kingsley Plantation is open seven days a week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. Admission is free.

You can explore the grounds at Kingsley Plantation, which include the slave quarters, barn, waterfront, plantation house, kitchen house, and interpretive garden. The visitor contact station/bookstore is located in a 1920s building adjacent to the plantation buildings.
A ranger program is offered weekdays at 2:00 p.m. Please inquire at the visitor contact station.
Touring the Plantation House - The plantation house is closed during the week for structural work. Weekend tours are available on a limited basis at 11:00 a.m. and 3 p.m., please call ahead for reservations.

The Bluffs at Big Talbot Island

Talk about a gorgeous park.  Talbot Islands are two islands, Big Talbot Island and Little Talbot Island that are both barrier islands in Northeast Florida.  We have been out there at low tide a few times, and it's a playground of driftwood trees on the beach.  I have heard it's a local photographer's favorite. On this day there were several photographers on the beach, braving some weather in the 40's.

The kids were thrilled to climb up on these huge trees.

Seed Packet png for JMG Class

With a freeze for two nights in a row, our first for the year, I am considering some inside projects for this week's Junior Master Gardener class.  We have been outside for our last several classes and I think our next section, Fruits and Nuts will be better handled inside.  Our first project is seed saving and we will be making our own envelopes to hold them.

I love The Graphics Fairy LLC's website for fanastic images.  She has had several that spoke to the dreaming gardener.  The idea of the seed packets I found with The Prudent Homemaker only I needed to rebuild it to work for our group.  I will be using the notes section to remind about the "Right Plant, Right Place" lesson.  Having scissors and a cutting project will help to occupy early students.