We are working on the letter L this week. I usually make up a nice little rhyme about each letter. For example:
Lola L
Lola L loved l-l-laughing while l-l-leaping along the lane.
Lola L licked a l-l-lollipop as she journeyed the long plain.
Lola L loved the l-l-luster of the sunlight lilting the lacy l-l-leaves.
Lola L lulled on a l-l-log and looked at her lime lined sleeves.
Lola L met L-L-Lamb, who lavishly lay near the l-l-log.
Lola L and Lamb swung from l-l-limbs and rested by the bog.
Lola L met L-L-Lion, a little friend, who swung from a l-l-limb.
Lola L, Lamb, and Lion listened to l-l-lyrics and sung a lovely hymn.
The girls love these rhymes. But what sticks with them more are hands on experiences.
Next, we counted the lemons. We added. We subtracted. But they knew that we were going to make some delicious l-l-lemonade, so they really just wanted to jump right to that. So, I started slicing our lemons. When we had six sliced and peeled, I gave the girls each a taste…they did not care for it. So funny…
So, then we loaded up our juicer. And flipped the switch. And…..Nothing! So, apparently there is something wrong with the juicer, which is fairly new, so that’s a shame. But, I did buy a terrific food mill from William Sonoma last year to make apple sauce that I love to use. I also think it’s great for those little arms to churn the mill a bit. Chloe took a turn first, and then Willow.
Finally, we had one cup of juice. To the juice I added 7/8 cup of sugar and 4 cups of water. I’m not going to say where this recipe comes from, but I can guarantee success. It is the absolute perfect ratio of sweet to sour, which I’m sure will please just about everyone. And it makes about 1 ½ quarts of lemonade.
The girls really loved it—even Laelia! It was such a wonderful, refreshing libation for such a hot summer day. And we, of course, saved some for Daddy for after work tonight.
While we were juicing, we saved the seeds from the lemons. So, tomorrow we are going to plant our l-l-lemon seeds and hopefully this project will come full circle, although the fruits will take a couple years before we see them on our new tree.
