Learninghaven.com

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  • Homemade Taffy Recipes


    Materials:

    • 1 cup sugar 

    • 1 cup brown sugar 

    • 2 cups molasses 

    • 3/4 cup water 

    • 1/4 cup butter (best flavor) or margarine 

    • 1/8 tsp soda 

    • 1/4 tsp salt 

    • 2 drops of peppermint oil (optional) or vanilla

    Instructions:

    Put sugars, molasses and water in a large pan.  Stir until sugar is
    dissolved.

    Boil until a thermometer registers 265’F.

    Cook the syrup slowly. Towards the end, when it is nearly done,
    stir frequently to prevent
    burning. 


    Remove from the stove and add butter, soda, salt and flavoring. 


    Stir ONLY enough to mix. 


    Pour candy out onto greased platters or shallow
    pans to cool.


    When the candy begins to stiffen at the edges, form the mass
    into a ball with a spatula.


    Take up into hands (buttered) and pull between
    the thumbs and fingertips- this is a “short stretch action”.


    Continue until the candy is light colored and porous. 


    Then stretch into a
    long rope not larger than one inch in diameter. Twist before cutting into
    pieces with scissors. 


    Pieces should be fairly small. If the candy is not to
    be eaten right away, wrap in waxed paper.

    CAUTION:
    Boiling sugar solution is extremely hot and dangerous, keep it away from kids.
    In the event that any does get on the skin, hold the affected part under running
    water for at least five minutes. If the skin blisters or breaks seek medical
    attention.

    Belinda Mooney
    For more fun recipes:
    Cooking with Kids

  • Reindeer Sandwiches Recipes

    This is a delightful treat
    for a Christmas party, skating gathering or even lunch at home!


    Ingredients:

    a.. Pieces of square brown bread
    b.. fillings
    c.. stick pretzels
    d.. maraschino cherries
    e.. raisins

    Make your favorite sandwich between two slices of square shaped brown
    bread. Trim off the crusts and cut the sandwich in two diagonally. With
    the longest cut side across the top, and one tip facing you, decorate
    the sandwich with two stick pretzels on each side of the top for
    antlers, two raisins for eyes and a half maraschino cherry for the nose.

    These disappear fast — best make up a plate or two of them to serve
    with hot cocoa on sledding and skating days .

    More holiday fun!

    Pasta
    Angel Ornament

    Pomander
    Balls

    Cute
    Reindeer Magnets

    Cane
    Deer

    Jingle
    Bell Napkin Holders

    Chubby
    Cotton Wreaths

    Pinecone
    Angel

    Crochet
    Snowflake

    Belinda Mooney is a homeschool mom with 7 children. She has
    been homeschooling for over 16 years. She manages several
    websites including Learning Treasures, Kid’s Kreate, Dinner’s
    in the Freezer and Cooking with Kids. She also manages the
    Unit Study and Preserving & Canning Sites at     www.WZ.com.
    Belinda is also a published author of homeschool curriculum
    and un-t studies. In her spare time she likes to read, do
    crafts and share her love of the Lord with others    –

  • Kris Kringle Punch Recipes



    1 qt. grape juice
    1 1/2 cups sugar syrup
    2 qts. cold water
    1 qt. ginger ale
    Juice of 4 lemons
    Juice of 4 oranges

    1 cup each:

    • pineapple
    • seeded raisins
    • grapes
    • bananas

     

    1. Slice the bananas

    2. Cut the grapes in half

    3. Cut the pineapple in small chunks!

    4. Mix and chill in the refrigerator.

    5. Serve in punch bowl with thin slices of orange and lemon floating on top.

  • Fruity Oatmeal Recipes

    This really
    doesn’t take much more time to make than a bowl of cold cereal. And warms you up
    much better!


    • 2 cups water
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup rolled oats
    • 1 cup chopped peeled peaches or chopped apple
    • 1/4 cup dried cherries, raisins, or snipped pitted whole
    • dates
    • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 cup skim milk

    In a medium saucepan bring water and salt to boiling.

    Stir in oats, peaches or apple, raisins, and cinnamon.

    Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

    Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 2 minutes.

    Divide oatmeal among 4 bowls.

    Pour 2 tablespoons milk over each serving.

    Makes 4 servings.

  • Dino Fossil Pops Recipe


    Ingredients:

    • 12 lollipop sticks
    • Gummy candy (worms, fish, dinosaurs, whatever you can find)
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 3/4 cup light corn syrup
    • 3/4 cup water
    • flavoring oil or extract ( remember oils are VERY strong flavored! Use just a
      little.) use about 1/4 tsp oil – up to 2 tsp extract.
    • yellow food coloring

    Instructions:

    1. Lightly oil 2 cookie sheets.
    2. Arrange 6 of your sticks on the cookie sheets so they won’t be to close to each other.
    3. Put 1 -2 gummy candies at the top of the stick.
    4. Stir sugar, corn syrup and water in a pan over med- high heat until
      sugar dissolves.

    5. WITHOUT stirring, boil this until a candy thermometer reads 300*-310*
      F.

    6. IMMEDIATELY remove from heat. Wait until boiling stops. Now add your
      extract or oil and a drop of food coloring.

    7. CAUTION*** (bottom of page)
    8. Working very quickly spoon 2 – 3 TBSP of syrup over the candies and top
      of the sticks. You can also use molds if you have them. Don’t worry if the
      candy melts a little it will get firmer again as the syrup cools.

    ***CAUTION:
    Boiling sugar solution is extremely hot and dangerous, keep it away from kids.
    In the event that any does get on the skin, hold the affected part under running
    water for at least five minutes. If the skin blisters or breaks seek medical
    attention.

  • Orange Eggnog Float Recipes


    Ingredients:

    4 eggs
    6 tablespoons sugar
    5 1/2 cups fresh orange juice, chilled
    1/2 cup lemon juice
    1 quart vanilla ice cream
    1 quart ginger ale, chilled


    1. Beat the eggs and the sugar until light (no separation  necessary here).

    2. Stir in the orange and the
    lemon juice. Place small scoops of ice cream in the punch bowl.

    3. Pour the ginger ale against
    the sides (inside, of course) of the
    bowl (this is done to preserve as much of the carbonation as possible).

    4. Add the orange juice
    picture slowly, stirring gently. Serve immediately.

    This will make about 30 servings.

    From Patty – used with permission

    More Holiday Fun:

    Candy Cane Reindeer Kits
    Everything you need to make 2 Candy Cane Reindeer Ornaments except the Candy
    Canes!
    $1.50 plus .75 postage and handling.
    Email to order!




  • Causes of the Great Depression


    The topic concerning the causes of the Great Depression, still today is a matter of hot debate. The Great Depression is the enormous economic downturn, which began in 1929 and lasted for a decade. The industrialized Europe and North America were the main victims but the whole world was traumatized by this economic doom.

    The hunt for the causes of the Great Depression is related to the thought of dodging any future depression. So politics and policies are fused in the analysis of the historic episode of the Great Depression. This long-term debate is now bifurcated in two directions,
     

    • The orthodox classical liberal, monetarist, Keynesian and Neoclassical theory focusing on the macroeconomic effect of money supply and
    • The Structural theories of Institutional economics pointing towards under -consumption and over-investment, popularly called the ‘economic bubble’.

    The consequences of the Great depression were a long-term chronicle of economic statistics. There is no one cause you could pinpoint, several causes merges in the quest for the roots of the causes of the Great Depression. Some important causes are:

    The Stock Market Crash Of 1929

    The Wall Street crash in 1929 triggered off the initial depression. The attitude transformed completely winding towards negativism in the fields of investments and enterprising. There was a brief recovery in 1930 but after that steady downfall made it the greatest market decline of the decade.

    The Problem Of Debts

    There was a rise in consumer debts during the 1920s gearing up consumer spending. People were deeply in debt and when a price deflation occurred they were in serious problem. Income and prices fell by 20-25% but debts remained in the same dollar amount. As the debtors choke the consumer creating pressure on them, the consumer spending fell. In the face of unpromising profit, investment scenario weakened and banks became more conservative in the wake of bad future prospects. Building up of reserves speeded up the depression.

    Decline In Trade Stats And Its Effect

    Sharp decline in international trade after 1930 worsened the situation. According to some economists the growing economic intervention made the market inept to deal with sudden changes. Britain encouraged trade within the empire and Germany followed Economic Autarky.

    Many historians and economists also blame the Smoot Hawley Tariff Act of 1932 for aggravating the depression by trimming down international trade. American exports declined from US $5.2 billion in 1929 to US $1.7 billion in 1933. This theory points on the crumpling of farm exports leading to default on loan payments as the cause of bankruptcy of small banks. This situation had a long-term effect as the cause of the Great Depression.

    The Blunder Of Federal Reserve Policy And The Effect  

    Monetarist Milton Friedman and Ben Bernanke focus on the negative effect of the Federal Reserve System. The policy contracted money supply by 1/3 from 1930 to 1931. With less money in the economy, the businessmen couldn’t get loans and even faced problems to renew their old loans. At the end of 1930 the economy faced series of bank failures leading to recurrent liquidity crisis.

    Capitalism As The Cause Of The Great Depression

    The radical left viewed the Great depression as the ensuing end of Capitalism. The belief in the innate instability of free market was in vogue. But free market at time of President Hoover was not exactly free. So, according to scholars if free market is a cause it caused the Great Depression when it was weakest.
    .

    Business As The Cause

    Roosevelt and The New Dealers accused excess of large businesses as the root cause of the Great Depression. The New Dealers planned to empower labor unions and poor people and to curb the power of big businesses by raising corporate profit tax. They instituted economic regulations. New dealers busted many large corporate houses thus weakening the economy and perpetuated the Great Depression.

    The Paradox Of Thrift

    British historian Keynes has coined the term “paradox of thrift” to describe the cause of the Great Depression. This refers to the cut on the spend amount to save more. After the Stock Market Crash in 1929 less spending saturated the market, which is the cause of price deflation leading to the Great Depression. Investment spending lessened and workers were lain off. A dangerous cycle was put into motion. The overall lower expenses reduced income level, which experienced lower savings too during the Great Depression. This is the Paradox of Thrift and the Keynesians requested the Government to restore economy by increasing government spending.

    The Historical Causes And Their Consequences

    After World War I the war reparations played a vital role in the economy. Though the allies were affected but Germany bore the main burden. This is an immediate cause of the Great Depression in Europe.

    The Great Depression is remembered as the biggest depression of world economy and a survey into the probable causes is designated to save the globe from another economic doom. According to some scholars after World War I the decision of Britain to revert to the pre WWI Gold Standard is one of the causes of the Great Depression.

  • Pyramids – The Inside

    The Great Pyramid at Giza


    The Inside

    Although we have known about the outside of the pyramid since it was built, it wasn’t until the ninth century that we learned anything about the inside. How did anyone find a way in and when they did, what did they find exactly?


    The entrance to the pyramid is in the North side, just to the east of the center. This entrance leads to a passage, sloping downwards, known as the descending passage. The passage ends in an underground chamber, which was never completed.


    It appears that after they had started to build the pyramid they changed their minds about where exactly the King was going to be buried. Unlike all of the Pharaohs before him, King Khufu was not going to be buried underground; instead he was to be buried in the center of the pyramid itself. Because they had already built the entrance and descending passage, they built an ascending passage from the roof of the descending one. The ascending passage is very narrow and has a low roof. At the bottom of the passage are three large granite stone blocks. Granite is extremely hard, and difficult to cut, so it was hoped that these stones would stop grave robbers from breaking into the tomb. The outside entrance was hidden by a large limestone block, similar to all the other blocks in the pyramid, so for over 3,000 years nobody knew how to get into it.

    Who discovered the entrance?

    In the ninth century an Arab ruler, Caliph El Ma’moun, heard stories about treasures hidden inside the pyramid. Among the things believed to be inside were metal that wouldn’t rust and glass that could be bent. He was a very curious fellow, and decided that he had to see these things for himself, so he set off to explore. Well, he didn’t actually set off himself, instead he sent other people to do it for him.


    His men had a very hard time finding an entrance. They seemed to know it was on the North side, but not where. Thinking that the Egyptians were very neat, they decided that it was in the middle, and they started to dig. Of course, since it was east of the middle, they were in the wrong place, and couldn’t find a way in. They had dug about 100 feet through solid rock and were getting fed up. They were just close enough, though for all their digging to pay off. Somehow the digging caused a stone in front of the granite blocks at the entrance to the ascending passage to fall. They heard the sound and started digging towards it. Eventually they reached the descending passage. The next day they went into the pyramid again, that is when they found the fallen stone and saw the three granite stones blocking the entrance to the ascending passage. The Ancient Egyptians were right, and the men couldn’t dig through the hard granite. That didn’t stop them, though, they just dug around them.

    Up We Go

    At the top of the ascending passage two things happen. First there is a horizontal (flat) passage, leading off into another unfinished room. This room is right in the center of the pyramid. El Ma’moun’s men called this the Queen’s Chamber. They thought that it was a room for the Queen to be buried in. This can’t be right though. We know that as soon as a King was buried his tomb was sealed and the entrance was kept secret, so robbers wouldn’t break in. So unless the poor Queen was killed straight after her husband, or worse still, buried alive, then she couldn’t be buried in his tomb. We know the Ancient As Egyptians didn’t kill their Queens or bury them alive we know this room wasn’t meant for her, so Queen’s Chamber isn’t a very good name for it. Since it isn’t finished it is quite likely that the King, or his designers, changed their minds yet again.

    Immediately above the entrance to the Queens passage is another passage leading upwards. This passage is much wider than the lower part and is known as the Grand Gallery. It slopes at the same angle as the ascending passage but the roof is higher and more elaborate. Instead of having straight sides, the sides narrow as they go up to the roof, making a sort of an arch. At the top of the grand gallery we finally reach the King’s Chamber, the room in which he was eventually buried.


    Inside the room is a large, pink granite sarcophagus. A sarcophagus is the container they put the actual coffin into. The room is covered in smooth granite, and there are two ventilation shafts in the roof, which lead to the outside of the pyramid. The roof of the chamber has five other “rooms” above it. Each is supported by a giant slab of granite. No one is quite sure why they are there, but it is thought that they were built to support the weight of the pyramid, and stop it collapsing into the chamber.

    How Do We Know All This?

    Nothing was ever written about the inside of the pyramid, or if it was, it has never been found, Everything we know is from looking and measuring and guessing. Some of the interesting theories that have been thought up so far are:
    It is possible that the designers intended for the King to be buried in the top chamber all along. However, being cautious, they built other chambers along the way, so that if the King died before the pyramid was completed, there would be a burial place ready for him.
    The sarcophagus must have been placed in the pyramid before it was completed, since it is wider than the ascending passage.
    The granite stones protecting the entrance must also been placed and stored at the top of the grand gallery, before it was completed, because they are wider than the descending passage. They must have been dropped into place after the King was buried.

    Now that brings us to an interesting theory. If someone had to stay behind to drop the stones, how did they get out?
    There is another small passage leading from the ascending passage to the descending passage. We think that the workmen who dropped the stones, must have used this to escape from the pyramid, so it is called the escape shaft.

    More Mysteries?

    One of the things that makes the pyramid so fascinating is the fact that nothing was written about its construction. This means that every now and then somebody comes up with a new theory, and wants to investigate them all over again. Since they are so old they are important treasures, and the Egyptian Government doesn’t allow just anyone to go digging around them. However, if someone can come up with a good idea for investigating them, which doesn’t involve destroying them, the Government gives permission. Some of the most recent ideas have included one to do an ultrasound survey of the pyramid, to discover if there are anymore hidden passages. This hasn’t been done yet, since the experts can’t agree on whether or not it may damage the pyramid.


    Who knows how many more secrets will be uncovered in the future?


    Now take a 3D graphic tour of the inside of the pyramid.

  • Flags at Half Mast


    Flags are used to symbolize many different things. Each of the elements in the flag represents something special. For example, each of the stars in the flag of the United States represents one of the States. The way a flag is displayed can also symbolize something special. A flag flown upside-down is a sign of great distress, and a flag flown at half-mast is a sign of mourning.

    Mourning is when we show how sad we are for the death of someone important to us. Flags are normally flown at full-mast. This means that they fly right at the top of the flagstaff. Sometimes, they are flown at half-mast. They are flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning. That is a perfectly good answer to why we fly them at half-mast, but it doesn’t explain the reasons behind it.


    When we talk about flying a flag at half-mast people think of flying them half way down the flagstaff. This is how we do it today. In some countries they still follow the old naval traditions from way back in the time of wooden sailing ships. That said that a flag flown at half-mast should be lowered until it is one flag depth below the top of the pole, mast or staff. The reason is that there is room to fly one flag above it. This is a symbol, the flag that should be above it is the “invisible” flag to represent that the person is ‘invisible” or no longer with us. Now in the United States there is a set of rules for exactly how to fly a flag, approved by Congress in 1942. They say that a flag at half-mast should be half way between the top and bottom of the flagstaff.

    Another important thing to remember is that the flag represents our country. Our country is more important than any one person. So during the flag ceremony, when the flag is raised, it should be raised ALL the way to the top of the flagstaff, and then lowered to show respect for the dead person. When it is time to remove the flag, it should first be raised to the top of the flagstaff and then lowered and removed. This is to show respect for our country. Our country is more important than any one person or group of people.



    The flag is a great symbol of national pride. It should be treated with respect. It should be flown correctly, and when raised and lowered, should not touch the ground. It should only be flown during daylight hours, and should not be flown during weather conditions that may tear or damage it. In special circumstances, and in order to show patriotism, the flag may also be flown at night, provided it is properly illuminated (lit up).


    Flags can only be flown at half-mast to represent the death of an important government official. In order to fly it half-mast for any other reason, the President must give his approval. This week the President gave his approval for all flags to be flown at half-mast. It is being flown at half-mast to mourn the deaths of the people who died in New York, Washington, and in the airplane in Pennsylvania. Other countries around the world have also ordered their flags flown at half-mast this week. They want to show the American people that they care about what happened, too.


  • World Coming Together

    The
    World is Not a Bad Place

    Coming Together


    Sometimes it seems like the world is a very bad place. Terrible things happen that
    scare us and make us sad. When things like this happen, everybody in the
    world is sad, not just the people it happened to. Just like at home,
    when you are sad, and your Mom gives you a hug, when the world is sad,
    everyone gives each other a big hug.

    Of course it isn’t really everyone giving everyone a hug, people in England
    can’t really hug people in America, their arms aren’t long enough! But people
    all around the world are showing, in different ways, how sad they are about what
    happened this week.

    Countries have flown their flags at half-mast. they have held ceremonies to
    show their feelings, and they have stood silent to think about all the other
    people.

    People all over the world have lit candles for each other, to let everyone
    know they care, and they don’t want anyone to be scared. Over the past few days
    something amazing has happened, the world has become a very small place. It is
    almost as if the people all around the world have held hands together.

    People in every continent have shown that they care. Some of the pictures on
    the television have been very scary, and you probably haven’t seen too many of
    them. You can see some pictures of people around the world showing
    how much they care. (This page is VERY slow to load, and you may need to hit
    refresh or reload several times to see all of the pictures). None of these
    pictures are scary, although they may make you sad. They show you that people
    everywhere care. The world is not a bad place; it is a place where people help
    each other and where people care about family, friends and complete strangers.

    Just like at school, or in the playground, there will always be a few bullies
    around who want to make you scared. At school and in the playground you have
    many, many friends to help you and to stop you being afraid. The world is just
    like that, there are a few bullies who want to make people afraid, but there are
    far more of us who are friends and will stick together, so we don’t need to be
    afraid of the bullies. We are all friends and will look out for each other.

    How about, today, you give a friend a hug and tell them you will look out for
    them?