Maple Fun

I have always loved the Maple themed time of year. 
Love the maple leaves in fall and the sap and syrup in Spring.
This year we did a Maple unit study and lapbook.
I got the books from the library.
And the unit study free from www.homeschoolshare.com.
As with all unit studies, our Maple study was centered around a theme,
 but had many branches (no pun intended).
So not only did we learn about how Maple syrup was made, but we learned new vocabulary and spelling words, geography, Indian and Pioneer customs, liquid measurements, and life cycle of a Maple tree.  Plus it was fun! Gave us a break from our everyday studies, but still with lots of learning and activities.

Here are pictures of our lapbook.  Mostly done by the older boys.

One of the highlights were the maple milkshakes we made at home one night.
Sooo good! And easy as you can see from the ingredients above. Just play around with it, till you get the flavor the way you like it.
We also enjoyed the trip to the Genesee Country Village and Nature Center in Mumford, NY.
In the nature center we walked thru the timeline of maple sugaring in the woods.
Starting with present day and ending up in 1800's.

In the village we sampled old time hot cocoa, sugar on snow, and a homemade cough remedy.
I know that last one doesn't sound appealing... but it was good! Made with maple and vinegar.
We saw a candle making demonstration, learning that old time candles were made with beef fat, not wax.  Mike enjoyed the brewery the most.  (don't need to elaborate there...) But seriously the boys did ask lots of good questions to the brewer (again, no pun intended) and learned many things about chemistry in the brewing processes.

Our day at the village was complete with an 'all you can eat' pancake, Maple syrup, and sausage breakfast. For us it was lunch...