Lessons are taking a backseat to camp this week, as Rachael will be gone every morning learning about...DINOSAURS! I probably think this is way more cool than she does, as I was dino-obsessed as a little kid - but her best friend Sophie is in the same camp, so she's pretty thrilled with it anyway. I can't wait to hear what she learns! Here's what the VMNH brochure had to say about her camp:
iDig Dinosaurs!
Age 5 – 7
August 3 – 7, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
A fun-filled camp designed especially for future paleontologists interested in dinosaurs and fossils. Participants will explore various prehistoric creatures through games and activities, and even make their own fossils to take home!
$55 non-members, $50 members
Yeah, the price is pretty miserable...but luckily, Sophie's mom works at the museum and offered to cover the cost for Rachael in exchange for babysitting services. Her younger daughter is only three months older than Milly, and they get along wonderfully - so what a great deal!
Our only other recent adventure involved FOOD. We're currently reading about the newest American Girl, Rebecca Rubin, who is a Jewish immigrant from Russia living in New York City in 1914. Her family speaks a lot of Yiddish at home, so Rachael is learning a word here and there (mazel tov, Shabbos, etc.) as well as learning about Jewish traditions. One of them mentioned in the book was the baking of hallah bread for the Sabbath - it was a treat for Rebecca's family, as eggs were expensive at the time. Rachael latched right onto the mention of hallah bread when Rebecca got to knock on the top of it to see if sounded hollow - meaning it was done. She immediately asked if we could bake some too. Google to the rescue!
HALLAH BREAD
1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 tbsp. sugar
5 c. flour
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
Poppy seed
Sprinkle yeast and sugar into 1/4 cup very warm water. Let stand 5 minutes, then stir. Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make a well in center and drop in whole eggs, oil, 1 1/4 cups very warm water and the yeast mixture. Work liquids into the flour. Turn out on lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Put in greased bowl and turn to grease top. Cover. Let stand in warm place 1 hour. Punch down. Cover and let rise 35 minutes or until double in bulk.
Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Between lightly floured hands roll dough in 3 ropes of even length. Braid and put on greased baking sheet. Cover. Let rise 20 minutes or until light. Brush with egg yolks and sprinkle poppy seed. Bake in moderate oven 375 degrees about 45 minutes. Check after 15 minutes, if braid is very brown cover with a piece of foil.
I'm not sure how accurate this recipe is in terms of being considered "real" hallah bread...but it was easy enough to make. Rachael thoroughly enjoyed kneading and punching down the dough. The task of braiding it fell to me, and let me tell ya...braiding dough isn't the easiest thing I've tried! It ended up looking pretty good in spite of my efforts, and tasted even better. In fact, the entire loaf lasted about 24 hours.
Shopping for the last of our textbooks for this year - more coming soon!
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